saber-toothed

American  

[sey-ber-tootht] / ˈseɪ bərˌtuθt /

adjective

1. having long, saberlike upper canine teeth, sometimes extending below the margin of the lower jaw.

---

Etymology

Origin of saber-toothed

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

It had evolved to specialize in hunting megafauna — oversized, cold-tolerant, plant-eating mammals like mammoths and giant sloths and saber-toothed tigers.

From Salon • May 15, 2025

Skeletal replicas of the terrifying mosasaur, a Komodo Dragon relative with a six-foot jaw; the saber-toothed salmon; and other extinct species greet visitors in the museum’s entrance hall.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2025

The find is the first of its kind and is giving scientists a new look at saber-toothed cats.

From NewsForKids.net • Nov. 20, 2024

In a study published this week in Scientific Reports, researchers describe the frozen body of a saber-toothed kitten preserved for 37,000 years in the Siberian permafrost.

From Science Magazine • Nov. 15, 2024

Even when the docent was taking us around the Fossil Lab and then on to the Observation Pit to see the real bones of a saber-toothed cat, Lily and Nathan were lukewarm in their enthusiasm.

From "It All Comes Down to This" by Karen English