pinniped

American  

[pin-uh-ped] / ˈpɪn əˌpɛd /

adjective

1. belonging to the Pinnipedia, a suborder of carnivores with limbs adapted to an aquatic life, including the seals and walruses.

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noun

1. a pinniped animal.

pinniped British  

/ ˌpɪnɪˈpiːdɪən, ˈpɪnɪˌpɛd /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or belonging to the Pinnipedia, an order of aquatic placental mammals having a streamlined body and limbs specialized as flippers: includes seals, sea lions, and the walrus

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noun

1. any pinniped animal

pinniped Scientific  

/ pĭn′ə-pĕd′ /

1. Any of various carnivorous, aquatic mammals of the group Pinnipedia, which some believe is a suborder of the Carnivora but others consider a separate mammalian order. Pinnipeds have long, smooth bodies and finlike flippers for swimming. Seals and walruses are pinnipeds.

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Other Word Forms

• pinnipedian adjective

Etymology

Origin of pinniped

From the New Latin word Pinnipedia, dating back to 1835–45. See pinna, -i-, -ped, -ia

Example Sentences

But in 1989, shortly after the Loma Prieta Earthquake, an intrepid group of pinniped adventurers swam beneath the bridge and headed east to Pier 39’s K-Dock, where they decided to make a home.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026

The puzzled pinniped was spotted in the Lancashire village of Walton-le-Dale, near Preston, after apparently swimming upstream along the River Darwen.

From BBC • Jan. 24, 2023

Fish and wildlife officials in the meantime will continue building on pinniped population surveys and diet studies.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 15, 2023

SeaWorld Rescue Team caught the pinniped, drove her to the closest beach and released her.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 11, 2022

A 2016 article in the paper Frontiers in Neuroscience found that pinniped vocalizations are phylogenetically much closer to humans than to birds, and that they are indeed more vocally flexible than primates.

From Salon • Jul. 2, 2022