Illustration of pangolin
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
Examples of pangolin in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
While some reports indicate a downward trend in pangolin trafficking since the COVID-19 pandemic, they are still being poached at an alarming rate across parts of Africa, according to conservationists.
—
ABC News, 20 Feb. 2026
In another photograph, a pangolin orphaned by poachers is comforted with a blanket at a rescue center in South Africa.
—Charlotte Reck, CNN Money, 4 Feb. 2026
Elsewhere, officials seized over 1,000 birds in Brazil, pangolins in Laos, Egyptian tortoises in Thailand, gibbons and cuscuses in Malaysia, and shipments of hatching eggs in Australia.
—Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 17 Dec. 2025
People still blame bats and people who eat bats, even though the two most likely causes of COVID-19, cited by scientists today, are that the virus infected a pangolin and jumped to humans, or that the virus evolved in humans over time to become virulent.
—Hazlitt, 29 Oct. 2025
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ABC News, 20 Feb. 2026
In another photograph, a pangolin orphaned by poachers is comforted with a blanket at a rescue center in South Africa.
—Charlotte Reck, CNN Money, 4 Feb. 2026
Elsewhere, officials seized over 1,000 birds in Brazil, pangolins in Laos, Egyptian tortoises in Thailand, gibbons and cuscuses in Malaysia, and shipments of hatching eggs in Australia.
—Moná Thomas, PEOPLE, 17 Dec. 2025
People still blame bats and people who eat bats, even though the two most likely causes of COVID-19, cited by scientists today, are that the virus infected a pangolin and jumped to humans, or that the virus evolved in humans over time to become virulent.
—Hazlitt, 29 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pangolin
Cite this Entry
“Pangolin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pangolin. Accessed 21 Mar. 2026.
Copy CitationKids 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
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