meerkat

noun

meer·​kat ˈmir-ˌkat 

: any of several African mongooses

especially : a burrowing highly social primarily insectivorous mammal (Suricata suricatta) of southern Africa that is chiefly grayish with faint black markings and lives in usually large colonies

Illustration of meerkat

Examples of meerkat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Humans, on average, are more monogamous than meerkats but less monogamous than beavers. —Rafil Kroll-Zaidi, Harpers Magazine, 24 Feb. 2026

As the continents sheared and twisted unevenly, local forces squeezed together thin ribbons of crust and popped them up like geological meerkats, isolating and slicing them off. —Evan Howell, Scientific American, 4 Feb. 2026

Two meerkats enjoy the sunset in the Kalahari Desert. —Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 26 Jan. 2026

Nine-year-old Evan Fenton of Deerfield, who plays Timon, a wisecracking meerkat, is a fourth-grader at Kipling Elementary School. —Myrna Petlicki, Chicago Tribune, 5 Jan. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Afrikaans, from Dutch, a kind of monkey, from Middle Dutch meercatte monkey, from meer sea + catte cat

First Known Use

1801, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for meerkat

• allot
• barat
• begot
• besought
• bethought
• bloodshot
• boycott
• buckshot
• crackpot
• croat
• culottes
• dashpot

Kids Definition

meerkat

noun

meer·​kat ˈmir-ˌkat 

: a burrowing mammal of southern Africa that feeds chiefly on insects, is grayish with faint black markings, and lives in usually large colonies