otter

noun

ot·​ter ˈä-tər 

plural otters also otter

1

: any of various largely aquatic carnivorous mammals (such as genus Lutra or Enhydra) of the weasel family that usually have webbed and clawed feet and dark brown fur

2

: the fur or pelt of an otter

Illustration of otter

• otter 1

Examples of otter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

An otter popped up out of one hole, followed quickly by another otter out of the other. — Robert Annis, Midwest Living, 16 May 2026

Sea otter surrogacy programs are designed to mimic what happens in the wild, where pups rely heavily on their mothers to teach them how to survive. — Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 10 May 2026

After years of using dogs to track the scents of missing people, a Florida search-and-rescue team has now trained otters to help with underwater searches. — Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 12 June 2026

River otters, once ubiquitous, were gone from much of the East; and beavers were eliminated from all 29 million acres of Pennsylvania. — Literary Hub, 10 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English otre, oter, otir, going back to Old English otr, oter, otor, going back to Germanic *utra- (whence also Middle Dutch otter "otter," Old High German ottar, Old Norse otr), going back to Indo-European *ud-r-o- "aquatic animal" (whence also Sanskrit udráḥ "aquatic animal, otter," Avestan udra-) with a feminine variant *ud-r-eh₂-, whence Latin lutra "otter" (with unetymological l- and -t-), Russian výdra, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian vȉdra, Lithuanian ū́dra, Old Prussian udro (Balto-Slavic with vowel lengthening and acute accent), Greek hýdra "aquatic snake, hydra" (also hýdros "the grass snake Natrix natrix," énydris "otter"); both forms zero-grade derivatives of Indo-European *u̯ód-r-/*u̯ed-n- "water" — more at water entry 1

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing otter

• river otter
• sea otter

Rhymes for otter

• auteur
• blotter
• cotter
• daughter
• hotter
• mater
• plotter
• rotter
• slaughter
• spotter
• squatter
• totter

Kids Definition

otter

noun

ot·​ter ˈät-ər 

plural otter or otters

1

: any of several water-dwelling mammals that are related to the weasels and minks, have webbed feet with claws and dark brown fur, and feed on other animals (as fish, clams, and crabs) that live in or near the water compare sea otter

2

: the fur or pelt of an otter