predator

[pred-uh-ter, -tawr]

noun

1. Zoology.,  any organism that exists by preying upon other organisms.

   Cats are carnivorous predators.

2. a person or group that plunders, pillages, or robs, as in war.

   The Vikings were barbarian predators.

3. a person, group, or business that exploits, victimizes, or preys on others: corporate predators who go after smaller rivals.

   a sexual predator who targets children;

   corporate predators who go after smaller rivals.

4. an overbearing, greedy or selfish person.

predator

/ ˈprɛdətə /

noun

1. any carnivorous animal

2. a predatory person or thing

predator

1. An animal that lives by capturing and eating other animals.

Other Word Forms

• antipredator noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of predator¹

First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin praedātor “plunderer, pillager,” equivalent to praedā(rī) “to plunder, pillage” (derivative of praeda “booty, plunder”) + -tor, agent noun suffix; prey, -tor

Example Sentences

Each moult leaves a capsule behind, forming a stack thought to confuse predators.

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Once released into marine ecosystems, these toxins can build up in the food chain, eventually reaching top predators such as dolphins.

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In the Dinosaur Coast gallery, the beasts don’t just stand there: They guard their young from predators and engage in fierce life-and-death struggles.

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New Zealand’s campaign is unusual because it aims to eradicate small, mobile and fast-breeding predators from the entire nation.

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But it was not a predator that had disturbed the quiet of their off-grid holiday: it was a flurry of text messages bearing the news that Dr Ramsdell had won the Nobel Prize for medicine.

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