carnivore

[kahr-nuh-vawr]

noun

1. any mammal of the order Carnivora that eats meat, fish, or other flesh, especially as its primary source of food: a category of mammals that includes dogs, cats, bears, seals, and weasels.

2. any animal that eats meat, fish, etc., especially as its primary source of food; meat-eater.

   alligators, snakes, and other reptilian carnivores.

3. any plant that traps and feeds on insects and/or arachnids, such as a Venus flytrap.

carnivore

/ ˈkɑːnɪˌvɔː /

noun

1. 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

2. any other animal or any plant that feeds on animals

3. informal,  an aggressively ambitious person

carnivore

1. 1. 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.

   2. 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.

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

carnivore

1. 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.

Other Word Forms

• carnivoral adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of carnivore¹

First recorded in 1850–55; from French, from Latin carnivorus carnivorous

Word History and Origins

Origin of carnivore¹

C19: probably back formation from _carnivorous

Example Sentences

Similar developments have been reported in research on other large carnivores, including spotted hyaenas, and reinforce the expanding value of bioacoustics in ecological science.

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Their glowing eyes make them look like a pack of carnivores, salivating as they wait for their prey.

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Students must do a training stint in each of four main categories — carnivore, herbivore, bird and primate — so they may wind up working with animals they find unpleasant.

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This is just some of the remarkable animal behaviour on display in the new BBC wildlife documentary series, Kingdom, which follows the lives of four rival carnivore families over five years.

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Nine known types of bats are true carnivores, meeting more than half of their energy needs by eating vertebrates such as frogs, birds, or even small mammals.

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Related Words

• carnivorous 
• flesh-eating www.thesaurus.com
• meat-eating www.thesaurus.com