vulture
Americannoun
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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.
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any of several superficially similar New World birds of the family Cathartidae, as the turkey vulture.
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a person or thing that preys, especially greedily or unscrupulously.
That vulture would sell out his best friend.
noun
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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
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any similar bird of the family Cathartidae of North, Central, and South America See also condor turkey buzzard
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a person or thing that preys greedily and ruthlessly on others, esp the helpless
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of vulture
1325–75; Middle English < Latin vultur
Compare meaning
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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.
Vocabulary lists containing vulture
Amazing Animals, A-Z
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Amazing Animals, List 3
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Birds, Birds, Birds, List 1
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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.
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
Critics tend to debate whether she is a vulture or just losing her grasp on reality, but there’s no question she’s hit on a successful formula.
From Slate • Feb. 27, 2026
Meanwhile the narrator’s financially devious husband appears as a vulture with “the brooding eye, the blood-tipped beak, the flabby folds of flesh” of a bird of prey.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 24, 2025
At Falconry Experience Wales, there is also hope that captive birds like Vinnie can help another species - the white-backed vulture.
From BBC • Aug. 25, 2025
The school sprawls atop Serra’s eastern cliffs like a colossal vulture, a jumble of austere buildings enclosed by a black granite wall.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
