mammalian

American  

[muh-mey-lee-uhn, -meyl-yuhn] / məˈmeɪ li ən, -ˈmeɪl yən /

noun

1. an animal of the class Mammalia; mammal.

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adjective

1. belonging or pertaining to the class Mammalia; characteristic of mammals.

Other Word Forms

• mammality noun
• nonmammalian noun
• unmammalian adjective

Etymology

Origin of mammalian

1825–35; < New Latin Mammali ( a ) ( mammal ) + -an

Explanation

Use the adjective mammalian to describe warm-blooded vertebrates with hair, or anything related to them. Your sister might be fond of snakes and frogs, while you'd prefer a mammalian pet, like a dog or cat. You, your pet dog, a gorilla, and a skunk all have something very important in common: you can all be described as mammalian, since you are all in the scientific class known as Mammalia. Mammalian characteristics range from having three small bones in each ear, to not being born inside an egg (with the exception of the platypus and other monotremes), to being nursed by a mother as an infant.

Example Sentences

The focus of the convention on mammalian species over others like fish and insects has previously been a criticism of the agreement.

From BBC • Mar. 24, 2026

In fact, Alcatraz is a noted sanctuary for nesting shorebirds, in part because it lacks mammalian predators such as coyotes, bobcats and foxes.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 20, 2026

While retrons have been used before in mammalian cells, previous attempts were highly inefficient, correcting only about 1.5% of targeted cells.

From Science Daily • Oct. 25, 2025

The average mammalian species, not to mention the average primate species, lasts about one million to three million years, and most didn’t need an Armageddon-scale trauma to usher them out of the fossil record.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 17, 2025

As a result of this fundamental inefficiency, no mammalian carnivore has ever been domesticated for food.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond

Related Words

• bodily
• natural