tertiary consumer

American

[tur-shee-er-ee kuhn-soo-mer, tur-shuh-ree] / ˈtɜr ʃiˌɛr i kənˈsu mər, ˈtɜr ʃə ri /

noun

Ecology.

a carnivore at the topmost level in a food chain that feeds on other carnivores; an animal that feeds only on secondary consumers.

tertiary consumer Scientific

See under consumer

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Which of the following represents the amount of energy of the tertiary consumer?

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

The biomass of secondary consumer fishes is 11, and the biomass of tertiary consumer fishes is 5.

From Textbooks • Jan. 1, 2015

Center: Mary Ann Linahan; Right: Robert E. Klein/Associate Press What tertiary looks like, left to right: syphilis, a street in Queens, a tertiary consumer and its prey.

From New York Times • Dec. 30, 2010

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023