predator
Zoology. any organism that exists by preying upon other organisms: Cats are carnivorous predators.
a person or group that plunders, pillages, or robs, as in war: The Vikings were barbarian predators.
a person, group, or business that exploits, victimizes, or preys on others: a sexual predator who targets children;corporate predators who go after smaller rivals.
an overbearing, greedy or selfish person.
Origin of predator
1Other words from predator
- an·ti·pred·a·tor, noun
Words Nearby predator
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use predator in a sentence
When you remove top predators, herbivores like deer increase and they eat all the vegetation.
3-D Printed Statues in Central Park Shine a Light on Women Scientists - Facts So Romantic | Mary Ellen Hannibal | August 18, 2020 | NautilusThese new specimens we’ve examined reveal a bizarre, monstrous predator.
This Week’s Awesome Tech Stories From Around the Web (Through August 15) | Singularity Hub Staff | August 15, 2020 | Singularity HubAs top predators in coastal ecosystems, these furry floaters gobble down a quarter of their body weight in urchins, crabs and clams each day.
Bringing sea otters back to the Pacific coast pays off, but not for everyone | Jonathan Lambert | June 11, 2020 | Science NewsThey would have been less like a pizza topping and more of a fearsome predator.
Saber-toothed anchovy relatives were once fearsome hunters | Carolyn Wilke | June 11, 2020 | Science News For StudentsAll animals need to avoid predators as they find food and shelter.
Why you’re spotting more wildlife during COVID-19 | Bethany Brookshire | June 8, 2020 | Science News For Students
But when a serial sex predator is playing fanboy, the gag reflex kicks in.
Sleazy Billionaire’s Double Life Featured Beach Parties With Stephen Hawking | M.L. Nestel | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThe lascivious sex predator is out; the deep-pocketed caped crusader is most definitely in.
Sleazy Billionaire’s Double Life Featured Beach Parties With Stephen Hawking | M.L. Nestel | January 8, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Air Force has enough MQ-1 predator and MQ-9 Reaper drones.
Exclusive: U.S. Drone Fleet at ‘Breaking Point,’ Air Force Says | Dave Majumdar | January 5, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTAmirpour sees the pimp as a liberator rather than a predator.
The Punk Behind Iran's Only Vampire Spaghetti Western-Style Love Story | Melissa Leon | November 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTA man tracks her back to a building where the girl bares her fangs and devours him, reversing the role of predator.
The Punk Behind Iran's Only Vampire Spaghetti Western-Style Love Story | Melissa Leon | November 21, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTShortly after midnight Lockley had been awakened when a skunk defeated a hungry predator within a hundred yards of their bivouac.
Operation Terror | William Fitzgerald JenkinsWasps in their predator state have been known to render spiders senseless, then bury them encrusted with eggs.
The Land of Look Behind | Paul Cameron BrownHe envisaged a future free of pool hall smells and the glandular malfunctioning of his predator owner.
The Land of Look Behind | Paul Cameron BrownHeavy bounties paid for wolf heads eventually reduced the depredations of this predator until sheep and goats were fairly safe.
Agriculture in Virginia, 1607-1699 | Lyman CarrierPursuit by a predator, random movement, or other cause may be responsible for shift from one edge to another.
Home Range and Movements of the Eastern Cottontail in Kansas | Donald W. Janes
British Dictionary definitions for predator
/ (ˈprɛdətə) /
any carnivorous animal
a predatory person or thing
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
Scientific definitions for predator
[ prĕd′ə-tər ]
An animal that lives by capturing and eating other animals.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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