vulture

American  

[vuhl-cher] / ˈvʌl tʃər /

noun

vultures plural

1. any of several large, primarily carrion-eating Old World birds of prey of the family Accipitridae, often having a naked head and less powerful feet than those of the related hawks and eagles.

2. any of several superficially similar New World birds of the family Cathartidae, as the turkey vulture.

3. a person or thing that preys, especially greedily or unscrupulously.

   That vulture would sell out his best friend.

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vulture British  

/ ˈvʌltʃə /

noun

1. any of various very large diurnal birds of prey of the genera Neophron, Gyps, Gypaetus, etc, of Africa, Asia, and warm parts of Europe, typically having broad wings and soaring flight and feeding on carrion: family Accipitridae (hawks) See also griffon 1 lammergeier

2. any similar bird of the family Cathartidae of North, Central, and South America See also condor turkey buzzard

3. a person or thing that preys greedily and ruthlessly on others, esp the helpless

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• vulture-like
  adjective
• vulturelike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vultures
  plural

Etymology

Origin of vulture

1325–75; Middle English < Latin vultur

Compare meaning

How does vulture compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• condor vs. vulture
• vulture vs. turkey vulture

Explanation

A vulture is a type of bird — with a bald head and neck — that feeds on dead animals. One of the most fearsome birds is the vulture: this bird of prey feeds on almost nothing but dead flesh. Unlike other animals that hunt, vultures go after animals that were killed by other animals or died naturally. Vultures are scavengers looking for corpses. And because of their morbid tastes, vultures are often associated with horror movies and scenes of carnage.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vulture vultures

In a 2024 exposé on Bowlero’s rise, Amos Barshad introduced a now-familiar category of villain — the private-equity vulture — as more than the average mercenary buying up distressed properties and selling off their parts.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026

As Scott Weidensaul tells us, poisoning has led to seven of Africa’s 10 vulture species being listed as endangered or critically endangered, with populations down as much as 97%.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026

I finally looked up the species: It was a gallinazo, also known as a black vulture, and as much as we might ignore them, they’d been circling the whole time.

From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026

He places the stones on Tom’s lap, Ms. Kessler tells us, “and walks slowly around the room, waving a vulture feather in the air.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026

And vulture started with V, just like Virgil’s name.

From "Hello, Universe" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Merrill said the Ostrands are very nice people, but seeing the vultures with their wings spread on their roof “looks very intimidating.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026

Ostrand, who previously ran a wildlife rehabilitation nonprofit called Our Wild Neighbors, added that vultures are important for the environment.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026

She said she hadn’t contacted authorities, but the vultures have been a nuisance, thudding on her roof, bouncing on her children’s trampoline and popping their toy balls.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026

Just being cheap isn’t enough to attract hot money — there also has to be some belief that Wall Street vultures are circling.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 1, 2026

John likes things like king vultures and alligators.

From "The Pigman" by Paul Zindel