meerkat

American  

[meer-kat] / ˈmɪər kæt /

noun

• meerkats
  plural

1. suricate.

---

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

---

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

Bob, a one-eyed African black-footed penguin, and Grub, a meerkat, were also scanned, along with a sloth named Arlo.

From BBC ● Apr. 21, 2026

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

From Science Daily ● May 20, 2024

Not a single meerkat went down to the pond.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

It focuses on large animal conservation, and counts species including lions, meerkats, lemurs, African penguins and sea lions among its residents.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

In the more than three decades that Clutton-Brock has been watching the Kalahari meerkats, he’s seen their habitat get hotter.

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

We didn’t have any meerkats in our zoo.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---