anteater

noun

ant·​eat·​er ˈant-ˌē-tər 

: any of several mammals that feed largely or entirely on ants or termites: such as

a

: any of a family (Myrmecophagidae) of New World edentates with a long narrow snout, a long tongue, and large salivary glands that includes the giant anteater and tamandua

b

: pangolin

c

: echidna

d

: aardvark

Examples of anteater in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

It's become the boy who cried wolf, bear, moose, badger, wombat, elephant, natterjack toad, mandrel, meerkat, blue whale, lesser skink, prairie dog, ferret, wildebeest, dingo, tree kangaroo, sloth, anteater, blue-footed booby, Norwegian Blue, and half the catalog in the Museum of Natural History. —New Atlas, 24 Jan. 2026

Zoo officials announced in November that first-time parents Winnie and Santiago were expecting a pup, which would be the first lesser anteater born at the zoo in over a decade. —Katie Langford, Denver Post, 30 Dec. 2025

The armadillo's closest animal relative is the anteater. —Kirsten Fiscus, Nashville Tennessean, 29 Oct. 2025

The touching image shows a giant anteater pup following its caregiver at a rehabilitation center after losing its mother to a road collision, one of the leading causes of anteater deaths in Brazil. —Dave Quinn, PEOPLE, 16 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1668, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing anteater

• giant anteater
• scaly anteater
• spiny anteater

Rhymes for anteater

• aliter
• ammeter
• completer
• demeter
• preheater
• repeater
• saltpetre
• ureter
• amphitheater
• centimeter
• centimetre
• decimeter

Kids Definition

anteater

noun

ant·​eat·​er ˈant-ˌēt-ər 

: any of several mammals (as an echidna or aardvark) that feed on ants