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View synonyms for tapir

tapir

[ tey-per, tuh-peer ]

noun

, plural ta·pirs, (especially collectively) ta·pir.
  1. any of several large, stout, three-toed ungulates of the family Tapiridae, of Central and South America, the Malay Peninsula, and Sumatra, somewhat resembling swine and having a long, flexible snout: all species are threatened or endangered.


tapir

/ ˈteɪpə /

noun

  1. any perissodactyl mammal of the genus Tapirus, such as T. indicus ( Malayan tapir ), of South and Central America and SE Asia, having an elongated snout, three-toed hind legs, and four-toed forelegs: family Tapiridae
“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


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Word History and Origins

Origin of tapir1

1560–70; Tupi tapira
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Word History and Origins

Origin of tapir1

C18: from Tupi tapiira
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Example Sentences

Now we know that there might have been this crazy saber-toothed animal stalking primates in the branches or maybe stalking the tapirs in the leaves below.

Chávez and his colleagues observed the tapir frogs in the shallow spaces beneath the roots of small trees growing from the least waterlogged patches of peat.

If this population can be confirmed as tapir frogs, they could give scientists more information about the species’s distribution and how best to conserve it.

Within them, young readers are asked to locate a purple tapir named Gordon, but the plot soon diverges from the activity-book formula.

From Time

Once she nursed a sick tapir called April through the night, playing the music of the Doors to stay awake.

One can cite but the sole example of the American tapir where the male is smaller than the female.

The tapir is a very large animal,—about five or six feet long and three or four feet high.

The tapir lives as much in the water as on the land, and delights to wallow like a pig in muddy pools.

Then Martin turned to fly, but at the same moment the tapir did the same, to his great delight and surprise.

The tapir stopped feeding for a moment, but then recommenced, though evidently not222 with as much eagerness as before.

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