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:
Mylodon, which lived between 1.8 million and 12,000 years ago, was mainly vegetarian but was also an opportunistic omnivore.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 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
Before the pandemic, she was a cultural omnivore, busy with concerts and art openings four to five nights a week.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 10, 2023
Once it was discovered, cooking became one of the most important tools of the human omnivore.
From "The Omnivore's Dilemma" by Michael Pollan
While bears are typically seen as apex predators, he says, black bears — the only wild bears left in California — are actually vegetarian-leaning omnivores, eating far more grass, tubers, roots and berries than meat.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2025
Finally, the scientists compared the mother's diet to those of other omnivores and carnivores from the same time period, including American lions, bears and wolves.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 4, 2024
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
The world holds only about 148 species of large wild mammalian terrestrial herbivores or omnivores, the large mammals that could he considered candidates for domestication.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
