omnivore
Americannoun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of omnivore
First recorded in 1885–90; from French, from Latin omnivorus “all-devouring”; see omnivorous ( def. ); noun use modeled on carnivore, herbivore, etc.
Explanation
An omnivore is an animal that eats both plants and animals for their main food. Pigs are omnivores, so they would be just as happy eating an apple, or the worm inside the apple. Omnivore comes from the Latin words omni, meaning "all, everything," and vorare, meaning "to devour." So an omnivore will eat pretty much eat anything in sight. Humans are genetically designed to be omnivores, but some people choose to limit their diets. When a person is described as an omnivore, it usually means he's willing to eat all kinds of foods and is not a vegetarian or a vegan or on some other kind of special diet.
Vocabulary lists containing omnivore
The Omnivore's Dilemma
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Life Science: Ecosystems
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Ecology - Interdependent Relationships in Ecosystems - Introductory
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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.
See Examples For:
Acocella was a cultural omnivore, and the menu here is correspondingly eclectic: Dracula, dictionaries, dirty words; Marilynne Robinson, Richard Pryor, Elena Ferrante; Gilgamesh, Beowulf, “Little Women.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 26, 2024
Her sister Wendy, who followed the omnivore diet, lost almost four pounds of muscle and gained 0.3 pounds of fat.
From Salon ● Jan. 4, 2024
The omnivore diet included chicken, fish, eggs, cheese, dairy and other animal-sourced foods.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 30, 2023
The aequorea victoria are classed as omnivore, and feed on plankton.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2023
Today, the modern omnivore has almost no culture to fall back on.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
The analysis included 7,280 lacto-ovo-vegetarians, 1,289 vegans, and 40,059 omnivores, allowing researchers to assess differences in nutrient intake, growth, and overall health.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 21, 2025
The ancestors of dinosaurs were small omnivores, minor players in the Triassic ecosystem.
From Science Magazine ● Nov. 27, 2024
"They just need to consume extra protein" compared to omnivores, Johnston said.
From Salon ● Jul. 15, 2024
Humans’ endless encroachment on the natural habitat has led to an increase in encounters with the animals, omnivores especially adept at scavenging.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 26, 2024
He knew they sprayed a stinky smell to protect themselves, and he knew they were mammals, and he knew they were omnivores because they ate bugs and smaller animals and plants, too.
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
