meerkat

American  

[meer-kat] / ˈmɪər kæt /

noun

• meerkats
  plural

1. suricate.

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meerkat British  

/ ˈmɪəˌkæt /

noun

1. any of several South African mongooses, esp Suricata suricatta ( slender-tailed meerkat or suricate ), which has a lemur-like face and four-toed feet

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• meerkats
  plural

Etymology

Origin of meerkat

Dutch: literally, monkey, apparently equivalent to meer ( see mere ²) + kat cat

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

meerkat meerkats

Artificial intelligence lets these glasses identify objects in our field of view, like a ficus tree or a Southern African meerkat.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

One of the most familiar cooperative breeders to a human audience might be the meerkat, thanks to the documentary series Meerkat Manor.

From Slate ● May 10, 2026

Concerns had been raised about her taking a meerkat from her farm near Braintree, Essex, to the pub, but Ms Marsh insisted she was being targeted by online trolls.

From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2025

"When one meerkat calls, a neighbour is likely to reply," he adds.

From Science Daily ● May 20, 2024

I tossed hundreds of meerkat morsels at him that I would gladly have eaten myself.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel

In the more than three decades that Clutton-Brock has been watching the Kalahari meerkats, he’s seen their habitat get hotter.

From Slate ● May 10, 2026

However, being ranked alongside meerkats and beavers doesn't mean our societies are the same - human society is poles apart.

From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2025

Are the meerkats that appear near the end of the story real or a hallucination?

From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2025

We streamed soothing sights of wildlife such as penguins and meerkats at the San Diego Zoo while the polls were still open.

From Salon ● Nov. 8, 2024

If I set a million meerkats fleeing in terror, the chaos would be indescribable.

From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel