Illustration of aardvark
aardvark
noun
aard·vark
ˈärd-ˌvärk 
: a large burrowing nocturnal mammal (Orycteropus afer) of sub-Saharan Africa that has a long snout, extensible tongue, powerful claws, large ears, and heavy tail and feeds especially on termites and ants
Examples of aardvark in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
This includes the clouded leopard, black-footed cat, fennec fox, vampire bats and aardvarks.
—
Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 15 Mar. 2024
Brown's Arthur series follows its titular young aardvark and his pals.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 30 July 2023
But the desert is for creatures more elusive still: wild dogs, cheetahs, aardvarks, brown hyenas, porcupine, and pangolins.
—Christopher Cameron, Robb Report, 28 Nov. 2023
The changes provided a foundation for later adaptations to feed on plants and larger animals; over time these pioneers became the Mesozoic equivalents of otters, raccoons, flying squirrels and aardvarks.
—Riley Black, Scientific American, 28 June 2023
At the Scripps National Spelling Bee, elementary- and middle-school children compete to see who can correctly spell the gnarliest words in the English language, from aardvark to zabaglione.
—Melissa Mohr, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 May 2023
Researchers compared the genomes of these mammals with those of a diverse assortment of others, including an aardvark, a meerkat, a star-nosed mole and a human.
—Emily Anthes, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2023
Most significantly leopards, but also serval and caracal cats, aardvarks and aardwolves, as well as many smaller mammals and much of the bird and reptile life that had previously vanished.
—Joe Yogerst, CNN, 9 Mar. 2023
After over 250 episodes and movie specials, everyone’s favorite aardvark Arthur is coming to an end on PBS tonight with four very special episodes.
—Vulture, 21 Feb. 2022
Grace Tucker, The Enquirer, 15 Mar. 2024
Brown's Arthur series follows its titular young aardvark and his pals.
—Shania Russell, EW.com, 30 July 2023
But the desert is for creatures more elusive still: wild dogs, cheetahs, aardvarks, brown hyenas, porcupine, and pangolins.
—Christopher Cameron, Robb Report, 28 Nov. 2023
The changes provided a foundation for later adaptations to feed on plants and larger animals; over time these pioneers became the Mesozoic equivalents of otters, raccoons, flying squirrels and aardvarks.
—Riley Black, Scientific American, 28 June 2023
At the Scripps National Spelling Bee, elementary- and middle-school children compete to see who can correctly spell the gnarliest words in the English language, from aardvark to zabaglione.
—Melissa Mohr, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 May 2023
Researchers compared the genomes of these mammals with those of a diverse assortment of others, including an aardvark, a meerkat, a star-nosed mole and a human.
—Emily Anthes, New York Times, 27 Apr. 2023
Most significantly leopards, but also serval and caracal cats, aardvarks and aardwolves, as well as many smaller mammals and much of the bird and reptile life that had previously vanished.
—Joe Yogerst, CNN, 9 Mar. 2023
After over 250 episodes and movie specials, everyone’s favorite aardvark Arthur is coming to an end on PBS tonight with four very special episodes.
—Vulture, 21 Feb. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'aardvark.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
borrowed from early Afrikaans aardvarken (modern erdvark), from aarde "earth" + vark "hog"; akin to Old English eorthe "earth" and to Old English fearh "young pig" — more at earth entry 1, farrow entry 1
Note: Current Afrikaans erdvark, as against early aardvarken, aardvark (with Afrikaans loss of the Dutch final syllable), reflects early competition in Afrikaans between standard Dutch aarde and the North/South Holland form erd(e) (with lengthened [e] or [ε]); as a simplex Afrikaans retains both with different senses: erd, "earth, clay," aarde "earth (the planet)."
First Known Use
1822, in the meaning defined above
Dictionary Entries Near aardvark
Cite this Entry
“Aardvark.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aardvark. Accessed 16 Apr. 2024.
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Kids Definition
aardvark
noun
aard·vark
ˈärd-ˌvärk
: a large burrowing African mammal that feeds on insects and especially termites with its long sticky tongue
Etymology
from early Afrikaans (now erdvark), "earth pig"
More from Merriam-Webster on aardvark
Nglish: Translation of aardvark for Spanish Speakers
Britannica English: Translation of aardvark for Arabic Speakers
Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about aardvark
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