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hematophagous

American  
[hee-muh-tof-uh-guhs, hem-uh-] / ˌhi məˈtɒf ə gəs, ˌhɛm ə- /

adjective

  1. feeding on blood, as the vampire bat.

Etymology

Origin of hematophagous

First recorded in 1850–55; hemato- + -phagous

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.

That's noteworthy because, among modern-day mosquitoes, only females are hematophagous, meaning that they use piercing mouthparts to feed on the blood of people and other animals.

From Science Daily • Dec. 4, 2023

It also suggests that the evolution of hematophagy was more complicated than had been suspected, with hematophagous males in the distant past.

From Science Daily • Dec. 4, 2023

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.