aardvark

American  

[ahrd-vahrk] / ˈɑrdˌvɑrk /

noun

aardvarks plural

1. a large, nocturnal, burrowing mammal, Orycteropus afer, of central and southern Africa, feeding on ants and termites and having a long, extensile tongue, strong claws, and long ears.

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aardvark British  

/ ˈɑːdˌvɑːk /

noun

1. Also called: ant bear.  a nocturnal mammal, Orycteropus afer, the sole member of its family ( Orycteropodidae ) and order ( Tubulidentata ). It inhabits the grasslands of Africa, has long ears and snout, and feeds on termites

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• aardvarks
  plural

Etymology

Origin of aardvark

First recorded in 1825–35; from Afrikaans erdvark, from Dutch aardvarken, equivalent to aarde “earth” + varken “pig”; see earth, farrow ¹

Compare meaning

How does aardvark compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• aardvark vs. armadillo

Explanation

An aardvark is an African mammal with a long, flexible snout; rabbit-like ears; and powerful, shovel-like claws. Aardvarks are insectivores, meaning they primarily eat insects. Some people call aardvarks "antbears" due to their diet of social insects like ants and termites. While aardvarks resemble badgers or small pigs, they are related to neither: Aardvarks are the only living species in the order Tubulidentata. These nocturnal animals dig for food at night and use their long, sticky, worm-like tongue to extract insects from deep tunnels. The word aardvark comes from Afrikaans Dutch, literally meaning "earth-pig," a combination of aard, "earth," and vark, "pig."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

aardvark aardvarks

People have examined aardvark DNA in the past for studies of mammalian evolution, but never across wild populations.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 18, 2023

Researchers compared the genomes of these mammals with those of a diverse assortment of others, including an aardvark, a meerkat, a star-nosed mole and a human.

From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2023

“She is very active, and was using her sharp claws to dig like an adult aardvark, just hours after her birth,” lead wildlife care specialist Cari Inserra said in the statement.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 16, 2022

Mr. Ratburn is a rat, and his husband is an aardvark, like Arthur.

From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2022

Not so: the Indo-European word ers, which later became “earth,” has evolved only one animal that I can find mentioned, and it is the aardvark.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas

A viewing gallery will show everything from penguin health checks to ultrasounds on pregnant aardvarks and even porpoise post-mortems - things never before seen publicly in the UK.

From BBC ● Apr. 28, 2026

"Everyone had heard of aardvarks and they are considered very ecologically important but there has been little study of them," said Clint Epps, a wildlife biologist at Oregon State.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 18, 2023

The changes provided a foundation for later adaptations to feed on plants and larger animals; over time these pioneers became the Mesozoic equivalents of otters, raccoons, flying squirrels and aardvarks.

From Scientific American ● Jul. 31, 2023

I haven’t had any encounters with aardvarks, although I think there may be one that lives in an apartment across the street.

From New York Times ● Feb. 20, 2022

Human latrines, like those of aardvarks, may have been a testing ground of the first unconscious crop breeders.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond