mammal

mam·mal | \ ˈma-məl

\

Definition of mammal

: any of a class (Mammalia) of warm-blooded higher vertebrates (such as placentals, marsupials, or monotremes) that nourish their young with milk secreted by mammary glands, have the skin usually more or less covered with hair, and include humans

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Examples of mammal in a Sentence

Human beings, dogs, and cats are all mammals.

Recent Examples on the Web As one of three bat species in North America that feed on nectar, these mammals are responsible for pollinating cacti and agave plants across the region. — National Geographic, "Lesser long-nosed bat," 8 Feb. 2020 Fellow mammals aren’t a safe role model for human foraging. — Tim Macwelch, Outdoor Life, "10 Survival Tips To Get You Through Winter," 30 Dec. 2019 But falling mammals aren’t the primary reason why driving in California is so difficult. — Wendy Leung, USA TODAY, "In California: Cleaning up tornado damage after Christmas storm," 26 Dec. 2019 Sociable, communicative and intelligent, these mammals are able to use tools such as rocks to smash open nuts, empty pods to scoop water and get termites out of their nests by using sticks. — Chris Ciaccia, Fox News, "Chimps are killing people in Uganda: 'It broke off the arm... opened the stomach and removed the kidneys'," 13 Nov. 2019 Afterward, the only mammals left were tiny, rat-sized creatures. — Cathleen O'grady, Ars Technica, "Fossil bonanza paints detailed picture of mammals after dinosaur extinction," 25 Oct. 2019 Interestingly, marine mammals aren’t always successful as avoiding the bends. — Matthew Berger, Smithsonian, "Dolphins Have a Mysterious Network of Veins That Could Be Key to Preventing the Bends," 26 May 2018 William Watkins, the marine mammal researcher who discovered the singular singer and listened to it for 12 years, died in 2004. — Erin Blakemore, Popular Science, "Seven mysterious sounds science has yet to solve," 27 Jan. 2020 While buffalo and bison are both mammals within the Bovidae family, the two are not all that closely related. — National Geographic, "Bison or buffalo? Possum or opossum? What's the difference?," 23 Jan. 2020

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'mammal.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

17 Feb 2020

Cite this Entry

“Mammal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mammal. Accessed 26 Feb. 2020.

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More Definitions for mammal

mammal

noun

English Language Learners Definition of mammal

: a type of animal that feeds milk to its young and that usually has hair or fur covering most of its skin

See the full definition for mammal in the English Language Learners Dictionary

mammal

noun

mam·mal | \ ˈma-məl

\

Kids Definition of mammal

: a warm-blooded animal (as a dog, mouse, bear, whale, or human being) with a backbone that feeds its young with milk produced by the mother and has skin usually more or less covered with hair

mammal

noun

mam·mal | \ ˈmam-əl

\