carnivore

noun

car·​ni·​vore ˈkär-nə-ˌvȯr How to pronounce carnivore (audio)
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Levi studies the endangered Humboldt marten, a small carnivore that lives on the Northern California and Southern Oregon coast. Andrew Cunningham, ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2025 And, in Patagonia at the time, that was dinosaurs – from medium-sized herbivores to smaller carnivores – whose fossils have also been unearthed in the same rock layers. New Atlas, 27 Aug. 2025 There’s a solid, mega-meaty take at the mini-chain Schnipper’s; a terrific vegan version that used to be on the menu at Superiority Burger could have converted even the most skeptical snob or carnivore. Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 17 Aug. 2025 The tracks were left by meat-eating dinosaurs similar to an Acrocanthosaurus, a roughly 35-foot-long bipedal carnivore, Brown said. Doc Louallen, ABC News, 8 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for carnivore

Word History

Etymology

ultimately from Latin carnivorus

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Time Traveler
The first known use of carnivore was in 1833

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Cite this Entry

“Carnivore.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/carnivore. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

carnivore

noun
car·​ni·​vore ˈkär-nə-ˌvō(ə)r How to pronounce carnivore (audio)
-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
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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