panda

[ pan-duh ]

/ ˈpæn də /

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noun

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.

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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Origin of panda

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

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH panda

panda , pander

Words nearby panda

pancreatotomy, pancreatropic, pancrelipase, pancreozymin, pancytopenia, panda, panda car, pandal, pandanaceous, pandanus, panda plant

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use panda in a sentence

The cub’s mother was on her way, and Dearie had to make tracks, as animal keepers do not directly interact with adult pandas.
Baby panda makes debut — online — at National Zoo|Dana Hedgpeth, Justin Wm. Moyer|January 27, 2021|Washington Post
The zoo’s red pandas — a group that includes males Rusty, Clinger, Slash and Shredder — seem like a fun bunch.
The National Zoo’s wild naming inspiration, from Billy Joel to the Golden Girls|John Kelly|January 25, 2021|Washington Post
Also unclear is whether horse poop actually prevents pandas from feeling cold temporarily, or if it just makes feeling cold less unpleasant, Gracheva says.
Giant pandas may roll in horse poop to feel warm|Jonathan Lambert|December 7, 2020|Science News
All pandas at the zoo move to China when they are 4 years old as part of the zoo’s breeding agreement with China.
Baby panda at National Zoo is named Xiao Qi Ji|Dana Hedgpeth|November 23, 2020|Washington Post

Rushing up a tree can save a wild panda from attacks by wild dogs.
Pandas use their heads as a kind of extra limb for climbing|Susan Milius|March 13, 2020|Science News For Students
Triplet panda cubs born this past July were reunited with their mother, Juxiao, in a Chinese zoo this week.
‘Sexual’ Barbershop Quartet, a Panda Family Reunion, and More Viral Videos|The Daily Beast Video|December 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The grand prize is a pristine white Fiat Panda 4X4 – with full options.
Pope Francis Raffles Off His Swag to Help the Poor|Barbie Latza Nadeau|November 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Vineberg's were said by police to be Panda, Black List, or Red Bull.
A Sax Player, Then a Suspect After Philip Seymour Hoffman’s Final Act|Michael Daly|February 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Panda-Patrice smothers sweet and sour sauce on his lips and grins at the camera.
The Most Offensive Lyrics and WTF Moments From ‘Chinese Food’|Culture Team|October 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Panda-Patrice hybrid plays board games with five young girls whilst rapping “Get me broccoli/While I play Monopoly.”
The Most Offensive Lyrics and WTF Moments From ‘Chinese Food’|Culture Team|October 15, 2013|DAILY BEAST
I will conclude with the following proverb, which comes in very appropriately: En retudi panda nasti abela macha.
Carmen|Prosper Merimee
The Milinda Panda mentions the royal astrologer as one of the principal functionaries of Menander.
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, July 1899|Various
Is it that the fates of battle 'gainst the Kuru house combine, Is it that thy heart's affection unto Panda's sons incline?
Maha-bharata|Anonymous
Panda, pan′da, n. a remarkable animal in the bear section of Carnivores found in the south-east Himalayas.
Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 3 of 4: N-R)|Various
This is a very curious animal, which, like the panda and the linsang, at first misled naturalists in assigning it a place.
Natural History of the Mammalia of India and Ceylon|Robert A. Sterndale

British Dictionary definitions for panda

panda

/ (ˈpændə) /

noun

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

lesser panda or red panda 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

Word Origin for panda

C19: via French from a native Nepalese word

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