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View synonyms for anteater

anteater

[ ant-ee-ter ]

noun

  1. any of several mammals of the family Myrmecophagidae, having a long, tapered snout, extensile tongue, and powerful front claws and feeding chiefly on ants and termites. Compare giant anteater, silky anteater, tamandua.
  2. the aardvark.
  3. a pangolin.
  4. an echidna.


anteater

/ ˈæntˌiːtə /

noun

  1. any toothless edentate mammal of the family Myrmecophagidae of Central and South America, esp Myrmecophaga tridactyla (or jubata ) ( giant anteater ), having a long tubular snout used for eating termites See also tamandua
  2. scaly anteater
    another name for pangolin
  3. spiny anteater
    another name for echidna
  4. banded anteater
    another name for numbat
“Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged” 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012


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Word History and Origins

Origin of anteater1

First recorded in 1755–65; ant + eat ( def )
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Example Sentences

Other animals, such as anteaters and opossums, also have been infected.

For good measure, they also threw in a coronavirus found in a scaly anteater known as a pangolin.

Researchers have documented that the virus can infect 51 species, including apes and monkeys, and other animals including anteaters, porcupines and opossums.

The team compared these with samples from living sloths, anteaters and other modern omnivores.

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anteantebellum