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meerkat

American

[meer-kat] / ˈmɪər kæt /

noun

suricate.

meerkat British

/ ˈmɪəˌkæt /

noun

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

"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

Etymology

Origin of meerkat

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

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.

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

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

From Science Daily • May 20, 2024

Elsewhere, and in more cheerful news, the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington DC announced last month that it was celebrating the birth of meerkat pups for the first time in 16 years.

From BBC • Jun. 14, 2023

Researchers compared the genomes of these mammals with those of a diverse assortment of others, including an aardvark, a meerkat, a star-nosed mole and a human.

From New York Times • Apr. 27, 2023

The screen saver is the flying leopard and the meerkat that I drew, and Ray and I animated.

From "The Tenth Mistake of Hank Hooperman" by Gennifer Choldenko

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023