suricate

[ soor-i-keyt ]

/ ˈsʊər ɪˌkeɪt /

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noun

a small, burrowing South African carnivore, Suricata suricatta, of a grayish color with dark bands across the back, related to the mongooses and having social behavior similar to that of prairie dogs.

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Also called stick·tail

[stik-teyl] /ˈstɪkˌteɪl/

Origin of suricate

1775–85; earlier surikate<French <Dutch surikat macaque

Words nearby suricate

surgical spirit, surgicenter, Surgut, surgy, Suribachi, suricate, surimi, Surinam, Surinam cherry, Suriname, Surinamese

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

How to use suricate in a sentence

The last of the civet-like animals about which we can tell you is the meerkat, sometimes known as the suricate.
The Animal World, A Book of Natural History|Theodore Wood
The Suricate has but four toes on each foot; the tarsus and the metatarsus are naked below.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia|Frank Evers Beddard
It will be remembered that the striping and spotting of the Hyaenas is very Genet- and Suricate-like.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia|Frank Evers Beddard
The Suricate lives in caves and rock crevices, and will dig burrows.
The Cambridge Natural History, Vol X., Mammalia|Frank Evers Beddard

British Dictionary definitions for suricate

suricate

/ (ˈsjʊərɪˌkeɪt) /

noun

the slender-tailed meerkatSee meerkat

Word Origin for suricate

C18: from French surikate, probably from a native South African word

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