panda

American  

[pan-duh] / ˈpæn də /

noun

1. Also called giant panda.  a white-and-black, bearlike mammal, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, now rare and restricted to forest areas of central China containing stands of bamboo, on which it mainly subsists: formerly placed with the raccoon family but now classified as a bear subfamily, Ailuropodinae, or as the sole member of a separate family, Ailuropodidae, which diverged from an ancestral bear lineage.

2. Also called lesser panda.  a reddish-brown, raccoonlike mammal, Ailurus fulgens, of mountain forests in the Himalayas and adjacent eastern Asia, subsisting mainly on bamboo and other vegetation, fruits, and insects, and reduced in numbers by collectors: now considered unrelated to the giant panda and usually classified as the sole member of an Old World raccoon subfamily, Ailurinae, which diverged from an ancestral lineage that also gave rise to the New World raccoons.

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panda British  

/ ˈpændə /

noun

1. Also called: giant panda.  a large black-and-white herbivorous bearlike mammal, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, related to the raccoons and inhabiting the high mountain bamboo forests of China: family Procyonidae

2. a closely related smaller animal resembling a raccoon, Ailurus fulgens, of the mountain forests of S Asia, having a reddish-brown coat and ringed tail

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Etymology

Origin of panda

1825–35; < French (Cuvier), a name for the lesser panda, perhaps < a Tibeto-Burman language of the southeastern Himalayas

Example Sentences

Raccoons are known for breaking into peoples garbage cans, leading to the nickname "trash panda".

From BBC

Based on their estimates, the researchers believe Salwasiren weighed around 250 pounds, similar to the weight of an adult panda or a heavyweight boxer.

From Science Daily

China will sent new giant pandas to France, a Chinese embassy official said, as an elderly pair was set to fly back home from Paris on Tuesday.

From Barron's

Affectionately referred to as trash pandas, the masked mammals known for rummaging rubbish bins for easy food, are evolving based on their proximity to humans, even starting to look cuter, a new study says.

From BBC

Deep in the forest, high in the mountains—amidst the evergreens, the firs, the spruces—sits a giant panda.

From Literature