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 of mammal from the Web
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Large mammals flourished in the LA area thousands of years ago.
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The bone is from a Harlan’s ground sloth, a mammal that roamed the Los Angeles basin 11,000 years ago.
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The hike will go through a 10-acre section of the preserve that the trust had clear cut last fall to provide good habitat for the New England cottontail species of rabbit and other small mammals.
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Seaside Aquarium, based in Seaside, Ore., along with Portland State University, are coordinators in dealing with marine mammals that wash up in northern Oregon and southern Washington.
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Zhao's big break came in 2006 when his illustration of an ancient gliding mammal appeared on the cover of Nature magazine.
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Orcas, also known as killer whales, are known to prey on other marine mammals, including dolphins and seals.
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Veterinarians then face an enormous challenge to vaccinate all dogs and other mammals — including strays — that might be carrying rabies.
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During that time Indiana was home to a motley assemblage of mammals.
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.
Origin and Etymology of mammal
New Latin Mammalia, from Late Latin, neuter plural of mammalis of the breast, from Latin mamma breast
First Known Use: 1813
MAMMAL Defined for English Language Learners
mammal
playDefinition of mammal for English Language Learners
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: a type of animal that feeds milk to its young and that usually has hair or fur covering most of its skin
MAMMAL Defined for Kids
mammal
playDefinition of mammal for Students
: 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
Medical Dictionary
Learn More about mammal
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Spanish Central: Translation of mammal Nglish: Translation of mammal for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of mammal for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about mammal
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