carnivore

noun

car·​ni·​vore ˈkär-nə-ˌvȯr 

1

a

: an animal (such as a dog, fox, crocodile, or shark) that feeds primarily or exclusively on animal matter : a carnivorous animal

Among the plankton are numerous diminutive but voracious carnivores, including small jellyfishes and comb jellies, saber-toothed creatures called arrowworms or chaetognaths, and a host of crustaceans and small fishes.

—Gregory A. Wray

As big as a bull elephant, T. rex weighed 15 times as much as the largest carnivores living on land today.

—Erik Stokstad

Carnivores [=people who eat meat] will appreciate the restaurant's refined version of surf-and-turf: steak au poivre matched with sweet, large prawns.

—Matthew DeBord

b

: any of an order (Carnivora) of animals that feed primarily or exclusively on animal matter : carnivoran

Farther back in their mouths lie some special teeth known as the carnassials. These are the hallmark of the true carnivores, or canivorans—members of a great order of placental mammals, the Carnivora.

—Richard H. Tedford

2

: a carnivorous plant

the Venus flytrap and other carnivores subsisting on insects

Examples of carnivore in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The carnivore diet, once a fringe curiosity, has gained traction among social media users thanks in part to personalities like Liver King—but its popularity has proven polarizing. —Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 May 2025

Although large carnivore populations are declining worldwide, European gray wolves (a subspecies of Canis lupus) defy the trend. —Olivia Ferrari, Smithsonian Magazine, 24 Apr. 2025

Nonie's Boracay, a slow food restaurant focusing on healthy, sustainable Filipino dishes, caters to both plant-eaters and carnivores. —Livia Hengel, Forbes.com, 18 Apr. 2025

By the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event, most of the survivors were the semiaquatic generalists and one group of aquatic carnivores. —Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 16 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

ultimately from Latin carnivorus

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Rhymes for carnivore

• albacore
• alongshore
• antiwar
• anymore
• blastopore
• commodore
• dinosaur
• evermore
• furthermore
• guarantor
• herbivore
• heretofore

Kids Definition

carnivore

noun

car·​ni·​vore ˈkär-nə-ˌvō(ə)r 

-ˌvȯ(ə)r

1

: a flesh-eating animal

especially : any of an order of flesh-eating mammals

2

: a plant that traps and digests insects