hunter-gatherer

noun

hunt·​er-gath·​er·​er ˈhən-tər-ˈga-t͟hər-ər How to pronounce hunter-gatherer (audio)
: a member of a culture in which food is obtained by hunting, fishing, and foraging rather than by agriculture or animal husbandry

Examples of hunter-gatherer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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These ills barely plague the few remaining hunter-gatherer groups, such as the Hadza living in and around northern Tanzania’s Great Rift Valley, who live ALAN-free and are believed to be one of the best living representatives of ancestral human lifestyles. Rowan Jacobsen, Harpers Magazine, 24 Oct. 2025 Most of these migrants were fisher-hunter-gatherers and belonged to numerous ethnic groups who left vital evidence of their presence in stones, burial sites, and artifacts. Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025 Our closest ape relatives, like chimps and bonobos, show a fair amount of violence, as did many groups of hunter-gatherers. Big Think, 18 Oct. 2025 Neanderthals sizzled meat over open flames; hunter-gatherers ground wild wheat to make bread; and factory workers canned fruit for soldiers during the Civil War. Alice Callahan, New York Times, 16 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hunter-gatherer

Word History

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hunter-gatherer was in 1938

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Cite this Entry

“Hunter-gatherer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hunter-gatherer. Accessed 26 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

hunter-gatherer

noun
hunt·​er-gath·​er·​er
-ˈgat͟h-ər-ər,
-ˈget͟h-
: a member of a culture in which food is gotten by hunting, fishing, and gathering rather than by agriculture

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