mammal

[mam-uhl]

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.

mammal

/ ˈmæməl, mæˈmeɪlɪən /

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

mammal

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.

Other Word Forms

• mammallike adjective
• mammal-like adjective
• mammalian adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of mammal¹

First recorded in 1820–30; as singular of New Latin Mammalia, neuter plural of Late Latin mammālis “of the breast”; equivalent to mamma ² + -al ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of mammal¹

C19: via New Latin from Latin mamma breast

Example Sentences

It has also lost more mammal species to extinction than any other continent.

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The legislation, which made it illegal to hold certain marine mammals in captive, prevented the government from approving Marineland's China export plan.

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The loaded narrative robs the picture of more time with Gary and Pawbert, even if Bush finds plot-effective ways to feature the supporting mammals.

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It appeared first in 2023, infecting birds and mammals in eastern Canada.

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Their diet centered on smaller marine mammals including harbor seals and harbor porpoises, and they usually traveled and foraged in groups of about five.

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Related Words

• beast 
• creature 
• vertebrate