numbat

American

[nuhm-bat] / ˈnʌm bæt /

noun

banded anteater.

numbat British

/ ˈnʌmˌbæt /

noun

Also called: banded anteater. a small Australian marsupial, Myrmecobius fasciatus, having a long snout and tongue and strong claws for hunting and feeding on termites: family Dasyuridae

"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 numbat

First recorded in 1920–25, numbat is from the Nyungar word numbat

Example Sentences

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See Examples For:

numbat

The numbat, a small Australian marsupial once reduced to just a few hundred animals, is making a remarkable comeback thanks to decades of conservation work.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

The white and the black cockatoo are common to the three colonies, as are many kinds of the smaller parrots, the kangaroo, and the kangaroo-rat, the numbat, the opossum, the native cat, and many others.

From The Bushman — Life in a New Country by Landor, Edward Wilson

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