animal kingdom

American  

noun

1. the animals of the world collectively.

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animal kingdom British  

noun

1. a category of living organisms comprising all animals Compare plant kingdom mineral kingdom

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animal kingdom Cultural  

1. The group of living things typically distinguished from members of the plant kingdom by the power of moving from place to place and by a metabolism that does not use photosynthesis.

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Etymology

Origin of animal kingdom

First recorded in 1840–50

Example Sentences

The ladybug, once a treasured member of the animal kingdom, is six legs deep in a publicity crisis.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 16, 2025

Political systems that resemble one another in their fundamental structure and function are like species in the animal kingdom: A chihuahua is not a golden retriever, but they are both dogs.

From Salon • Nov. 1, 2025

Sir David Attenborough returns to BBC One on Sunday with a new five-part wildlife series showing how parents from across the animal kingdom sacrifice everything in order to raise their young.

From BBC • Aug. 1, 2025

The sounds, those seductively embracing and those frightfully howling in the wind, became an acknowledged life in all its strangeness, the animal kingdom as counselor to our uncertainties, indulgences and differences.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2025

Why are giant brains so rare in the animal kingdom?

From "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari