carnivore

[ kahr-nuh-vawr, -vohr ]

/ ˈkɑr nəˌvɔr, -ˌvoʊr /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR carnivore ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an animal that eats flesh.

a flesh-eating mammal of the order Carnivora, comprising the dogs, cats, bears, seals, and weasels.

an insectivorous plant.

Nearby words

carnitine, carnival, carnival glass, carnivalesque, carnivora, carnivore, carnivorous, carnose, carnot, carnot cycle, carnot engine

Origin of carnivore

1850–55; < Latin carnivorus carnivorous

Related forms

car·niv·o·ral

[kahr-niv-er-uh l] /kɑrˈnɪv ər əl/, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for carnivore

In Area D the child's right foot bones were discovered with "carnivore damage."
Did They Get Her?|Diane Dimond|June 15, 2011|DAILY BEAST
But I learned that though I am a carnivore yet I have not the pluck to be a vulture.
The Sea and the Jungle|H. M. Tomlinson
But the carnivore does not carry its food to its mouth, and the cat carries her kittens in her mouth and not with her paws.
Parenthood and Race Culture|Caleb Williams Saleeby
That the carnivore may live herbivores must die; and that its young may be reared the young of weaker creatures must be orphaned.
The Data of Ethics|Herbert Spencer

It was the reek of a skunk, stalked by a carnivore and defending itself as skunks do.
Operation Terror|William Fitzgerald Jenkins
The molars differ from those of any other Carnivore in the much greater size of the first molars than of the last premolars.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia|Frank Evers Beddard

British Dictionary definitions for carnivore

carnivore

/ (ˈkɑːnɪˌvɔː) /

noun

any placental mammal of the order Carnivora, typically having large pointed canine teeth and sharp molars and premolars, specialized for eating flesh. The order includes cats, dogs, bears, raccoons, hyenas, civets, and weasels

any other animal or any plant that feeds on animals

informal an aggressively ambitious person

Word Origin for carnivore

C19: probably back formation from carnivorous

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

Science definitions for carnivore

carnivore

[ kär′nə-vôr′ ]

An animal that feeds chiefly on the flesh of other animals. Carnivores include predators such as lions and alligators, and scavengers such as hyenas and vultures. In a food chain, carnivores are either secondary or tertiary consumers. Compare detritivore herbivore.
Any of various generally meat-eating mammals of the order Carnivora. Carnivores have large, sharp canine teeth and large brains, and the musculoskeletal structure of their forelimbs permits great flexibility for springing at prey. Many carnivores remain in and defend a single territory. Dogs, cats, bears, weasels, raccoons, hyenas, and (according to some classifications) seals and walruses are all carnivores.

A plant that eats insects, such as a Venus flytrap.

Culture definitions for carnivore

carnivore

[ (kahr-nuh-vawr) ]

A living thing that eats meat. Among mammals, there is an order of carnivores, including primarily meat-eating animals such as tigers and dogs. Some plants, such as the Venus's-flytrap, are carnivores.