biped
Americannoun
adjective
noun
adjective
Etymology
Origin of biped
1640–50; < Latin biped- (stem of bipēs ) two-footed. See bi- 1, -ped
Compare meaning
How does biped compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A biped is an animal that walks on two legs, with two feet. Human beings are one example of bipeds. Most animals are not bipeds, but mammals that are include kangaroos and some primates. The ostrich, a giant, flightless bird, is the fastest living biped, and animals like bears and lizards are occasional bipeds. The word itself combines bi-, "twice or double" in Latin, and pedis, "foot." Four-footed animals, on the other hand, are quadrupeds.
Vocabulary lists containing biped
Animals (Zoology) - Introductory
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Paleontology: Dinosaurs - Introductory
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Animals (Zoology) - Middle School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
When anthropologists uncovered five of its fossilized footprints nearly 50 years ago, they couldn’t say whether this ancient biped was a hominin, a bear, or some other ape.
From Science Magazine • Dec. 1, 2021
“In such applications, conventional biped robots have difficulties with reaching the site, and standard multi-rotor drones have an issue with stabilization in high disturbance environments,” says the professor.
From The Verge • Oct. 12, 2021
“That’s the end of paradise,” he said, “And the beginning of biped world.”
From New York Times • Sep. 13, 2021
The cartoon version of evolution, in which a hunched ape becomes a tall and jaunty biped, suggests a journey with a destination.
From Washington Post • Apr. 10, 2019
“I was telling the boy that according to Plato, man is delined,” he said, smiling affably and gesturing to the cart, “as a featherless biped with broad nails, receptive of political philosophy.”
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
