: any of various largely aquatic carnivorous mammals (such as genus Lutra or Enhydra) of the weasel family that usually have webbed and clawed feet and dark brown fur
2
: the fur or pelt of an otter
Illustration of otter
otter 1
Examples of otter 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.
More than 3,000 tropical and subtropical species of plants and trees, as well as the inhabitants of the Everglades Wildlife Sanctuary: alligators, bobcats, otters, eagles, a black bear and, of course, flamingos.—Kari Barnett, Sun Sentinel, 13 May 2025 What to know May 2, 2025 6:12 PM Read Next
National
River otter who gave adoptive pups ‘second chance’ at life dies at Oregon zoo
May 1, 2025 5:16 PM
This story was originally published May 6, 2025 at 1:37 PM.—Olivia Lloyd, Miami Herald, 6 May 2025 Thanks to Baum’s work, Jockey’s Ridge remains hospitable to more than 160 types of birds, and 38 types of reptiles and amphibians call it home, along with otters, coyotes, foxes, rabbits and even at least one bobcat.—Amy Brecount White, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 May 2025 Per Teddy, Joe’s an otter, which is somewhere between a twink and a bear.—Sara Netzley, EW.com, 24 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for otter
Word History
Etymology
Middle English otre, oter, otir, going back to Old English otr, oter, otor, going back to Germanic *utra- (whence also Middle Dutch otter "otter," Old High German ottar, Old Norse otr), going back to Indo-European *ud-r-o- "aquatic animal" (whence also Sanskrit udráḥ "aquatic animal, otter," Avestan udra-) with a feminine variant *ud-r-eh2-, whence Latin lutra "otter" (with unetymological l- and -t-), Russian výdra, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian vȉdra, Lithuanian ū́dra, Old Prussian udro (Balto-Slavic with vowel lengthening and acute accent), Greek hýdra "aquatic snake, hydra" (also hýdros "the grass snake Natrix natrix," énydris "otter"); both forms zero-grade derivatives of Indo-European *u̯ód-r-/*u̯ed-n- "water" — more at water entry 1
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Time Traveler
The first known use of otter was
before the 12th century
: any of several water-dwelling mammals that are related to the weasels and minks, have webbed feet with claws and dark brown fur, and feed on other animals (as fish, clams, and crabs) that live in or near the water compare sea otter
Share