meerkat

American  

[meer-kat] / ˈmɪər kæt /

noun

meerkats plural

1. suricate.

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meerkat British  

/ ˈmɪəˌkæt /

noun

1. any of several South African mongooses, esp Suricata suricatta ( slender-tailed meerkat or suricate ), which has a lemur-like face and four-toed feet

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• meerkats
  plural

Etymology

Origin of meerkat

Dutch: literally, monkey, apparently equivalent to meer ( see mere ²) + kat cat

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

meerkat meerkats

Artificial intelligence lets these glasses identify objects in our field of view, like a ficus tree or a Southern African meerkat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

One of the most familiar cooperative breeders to a human audience might be the meerkat, thanks to the documentary series Meerkat Manor.

From Slate ● May 10, 2026

"When one meerkat calls, a neighbour is likely to reply," he adds.

From Science Daily ● May 20, 2024

The Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington DC is celebrating the birth of meerkat pups for the first time in 16 years.

From BBC ● May 24, 2023

I tossed hundreds of meerkat morsels at him that I would gladly have eaten myself.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

The zoo, which is based at a farm in Old Hurst near Huntingdon, has more than 100 animals, including lions, tigers and meerkats.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

In exchange for crumbs of egg, wild meerkats will climb onto scales and even hold still for ultrasounds.

From Slate ● May 10, 2026

Humans appear to be much closer to animals like meerkats and beavers than to most other primates when it comes to exclusive mating, according to new research from the University of Cambridge.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 22, 2026

Are the meerkats that appear near the end of the story real or a hallucination?

From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2025

I simply walked into what was surely the largest colony of meerkats in the world, one of the strangest, most wonder­ful experiences of my life.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel