predator

[ pred-uh-ter, -tawr ]

See synonyms for predator on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

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; see origin at prey, -tor

Other words from predator

an·ti·pred·a·tor, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use predator in a sentence

Many say the adopted children are so manipulative that parents are seen as predators by counselors or social workers.
Judge: Rehoming Kids Is Trafficking | Tina Traster | December 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In some cases children were rehomed with known sexual predators.
Judge: Rehoming Kids Is Trafficking | Tina Traster | December 30, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In Britain, the state has been a very poor custodian of children vulnerable to sexual predators.
The Castration of Alan Turing, Britain’s Code-Breaking WWII Hero | Clive Irving | November 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
How can we keep lauding the creative output of men even after the women in their lives out them as predators?
The Bill Cosby Controversy Stages of Grief | Amy Zimmerman | November 18, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Like most such predators, their danger to humans is often blown out of proportion.
Viral Video of the Day: Great White Shark Deathmatch | Jack Holmes | October 1, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST

Such behavior suggests that digging predators may be important natural enemies.
Field Study of Kansas Ant-Eating Frog | Henry S. Fitch
Both fish and plankton are consumed by humpback whales as well as by other predators.
Humpback Whales in Glacier Bay National Monument, Alaska | United States Department of Commerce, Marine Mammal Commission
And other things came to prey on the predators in their turn.
The Forgotten Planet | Murray Leinster
But men were not yet established in their own minds as predators.
The Forgotten Planet | Murray Leinster
Some creature had made an unapproachable home for itself where its young would not be assailed by predators.
Operation: Outer Space | William Fitzgerald Jenkins

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

Scientific definitions for predator

predator

[ prĕd′ə-tər ]

An animal that lives by capturing and eating other animals.

Browse