mammal

[ mam-uhl ]
See synonyms for: mammalmammals on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. any vertebrate of the class Mammalia, having the body more or less covered with hair, nourishing the young with milk from the mammary glands, and, with the exception of the egg-laying monotremes, giving birth to live young.

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Origin of mammal

1
1820–30; as singular of New Latin Mammalia neuter plural of Late Latin mammālis of the breast. See mamma2, -al1

Other words from mammal

  • mam·mal·like, adjective

Words Nearby mammal

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How to use mammal in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for mammal

mammal

/ (ˈmæməl) /


noun
  1. any animal of the Mammalia, a large class of warm-blooded vertebrates having mammary glands in the female, a thoracic diaphragm, and a four-chambered heart. The class includes the whales, carnivores, rodents, bats, primates, etc

Origin of mammal

1
C19: via New Latin from Latin mamma breast

Derived forms of mammal

  • mammalian (mæˈmeɪlɪən), adjective, noun
  • mammal-like, adjective

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

Scientific definitions for mammal

mammal

[ măməl ]


  1. Any of various warm-blooded vertebrate animals of the class Mammalia, whose young feed on milk that is produced by the mother's mammary glands. Unlike other vertebrates, mammals have a diaphragm that separates the heart and lungs from the other internal organs, red blood cells that lack a nucleus, and usually hair or fur. All mammals but the monotremes bear live young. Mammals include rodents, cats, dogs, ungulates, cetaceans, and apes.

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