predator

[ pred-uh-ter, -tawr ]

/ ˈprɛd ə tər, -ˌtɔr /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR predator ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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

a predatory person.

RELATED WORDS

carnivore

Nearby words

Origin of predator

1920–25; < Latin praedātor plunderer, equivalent to praedā(rī) to plunder (derivative of praeda prey) + -tor -tor

Related formsan·ti·pred·a·tor, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for predator

Amirpour 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|DAILY BEAST
A 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|DAILY BEAST
I truly believe that most predator priests are out there living alone.
How Sicko Priests Got Away With It|Barbie Latza Nadeau|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One of those is Neal Blue, the co-owner and CEO of General Atomics, the company that makes the Predator and Reaper drones.
Speed Read: James Risen Indicts The War On Terror’s Costly Follies|William O’Connor|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST

He believes that consuming the spirit on a regular basis gives him the strength of a tiger and the senses of a predator.
China Is Brewing Wine From Tiger Bones|Brendon Hong|July 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
These services are aimed at re-establishing economic equilibrium in the host (predator) economies.
After the Rain|Sam Vaknin
In general, the predator is bulkier than his prey, since he overcomes him and devours him.
Introduction to the Science of Sociology|Robert E. Park
A predator feeding on other animals would be expected to leave some evidence of its habits on the bones of its prey.
Two New Pelycosaurs from the Lower Permian of Oklahoma|Richard C. Fox
The national economies of the world can be divided to the scavenger and the predator types.
After the Rain|Sam Vaknin
And yet there was nothing about Jason Perfidion—nothing physical, that is—that suggested the predator.
A Knyght Ther Was|Robert F. Young

British Dictionary definitions for predator

predator

/ (ˈprɛdətə) /

noun

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

Word Origin and History for predator

predator

1862, from Latin praedator "plunderer," from praedari "to rob" (see predation). Originally Predatores (Swainson, 1840) used of insects that ate other insects.

Science definitions for predator