Definition of panda
1 : red panda
2 : a large black-and-white mammal (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) of chiefly central China that feeds primarily on bamboo shoots and is now usually classified with the bears (family Ursidae) —called also giant panda
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Recent Examples of panda from the Web
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Panda-monium is making its way back to San Francisco.
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Staff at the Woodland Park Zoo are mourning the death of Stellar, a 10-year-old red panda who moved to the zoo from Canada nine years ago.
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For a country long symbolized by another cute bear, the battle is on between Pooh and the panda bear.
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My new favorite cartoon character is a white-collar red panda with anger issues.
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A giant panda at the Shenshuping Panda Base in the Sichuan Province of China gave birth to twins on July 8.
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Panda opened a restaurant in the Alabaster Promenade shopping center off of Highway 31 and Interstate 65 in 2014 and a location in Hoover in summer of 2016.
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Of the 1,085 endangered plant and animal species in China the report examined, the habitats for 738 of them worsened between 2005 and 2015.The giant panda is a rare exception.
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Berlin’s last panda, Bao Bao, was sent in 1980 as a gift from then-Chinese leader Hua Guofeng to West German Chancellor Helmut Schmidt.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'panda.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Illustration of panda
Origin and Etymology of panda
French, perhaps from a language of the southeast Himalayas
PANDA Defined for English Language Learners
panda
playDefinition of panda for English Language Learners
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: a large animal with black-and-white fur that looks like a bear, lives in China, and eats mostly bamboo shoots
PANDA Defined for Kids
History for panda
A picture of a panda—the red panda rather than the panda of China—as well as the word panda itself first appeared in Europe in 1825. The French naturalist who published the picture, Frédéric Cuvier, did not tell us where he found the word, but it is assumed to be from a language of Nepal. When the panda of China first became known, it was thought to be a kind of bear. In 1901 scientists decided it was most closely related to the red panda and hence named it “giant panda.” Though the kinship between the two animals is now known to be much more distant, the name panda is still firmly attached to both animals.
Learn More about panda
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See words that rhyme with panda Spanish Central: Translation of panda Nglish: Translation of panda for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of panda for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about panda
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