pangolin

noun

pan·​go·​lin ˈpaŋ-gə-lən 

ˈpan-

: any of a family (Manidae of the order Pholidota) of Asian and African toothless mammals having the body covered dorsally with large imbricated horny scales

called also scaly anteater

Illustration of pangolin

Examples of pangolin in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Over 100,000 pangolins are poached from the wild every year. —Michael Adkesson, Chicago Tribune, 16 Aug. 2025

Visitors can experience it through game drives, night safaris, waterfall hikes, and rare pangolin conservation encounters. —Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 23 July 2025

To date, every animal featured in the series is impacted by climate change, and that’s also true for pangolins, particularly the Temminck’s ground pangolin. —Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 8 June 2025

In addition, traffickers were often found to be smuggling sea horses alongside other products, like pangolin scales and elephant ivory. —Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 6 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Malay dialect pĕngguling

First Known Use

1774, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

pangolin

noun

pan·​go·​lin ˈpaŋ-gə-lən 

ˈpan-

: any of several Asian and African toothless mammals having the body covered with large overlapping horny scales