carrion
Americannoun
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dead and putrefying flesh.
-
rottenness; anything vile.
adjective
noun
-
dead and rotting flesh
-
(modifier) eating carrion
carrion beetles
-
something rotten or repulsive
Etymology
Origin of carrion
1175–1225; Middle English caroyne, careyn, carion < Anglo-French careine, Old French charo ( i ) gne < Vulgar Latin *caronia, equivalent to Latin carun- ( caruncle ) + -ia -y 3
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.
Condors vanished from the state’s North Coast after the arrival of European settlers, who killed other animals with lead bullets and strychnine — poisoning the raptors that feed on carrion.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 5, 2026
Like the bird of prey seeking carrion, a foreign correspondent is characterized as a misery merchant or conflict cowboy, making a living from death and disaster.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 7, 2025
Vultures thus fulfil an important ecological role by cleaning landscapes of carrion and containing the spread of wildlife diseases.
From Science Daily • Nov. 19, 2024
Jiří Hřebíček created an artistic image of a carrion crow by using a long shutter speed while moving his camera on purpose.
From BBC • Oct. 8, 2024
From time to time the guards waved their spears to chase away the kestrels, gulls, and carrion crows paying court to the deceased.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
