Did you know?
The quadrupeds include almost all the mammals. (Among the exceptions are whales, bats, and humans.) The Greek equivalent of this Latin word is tetrapod. However, the two are not identical, since the tetrapod classification includes bipeds such as birds, in which two of the limbs are no longer used for walking. Insects all have six legs, of course, and in the sea there are eight-legged octopods (including the octopus). But there are no animals of any kind with an odd number of legs.
Examples of quadruped in a Sentence
Horses and cows are quadrupeds.
Recent Examples on the Web
The new video is a clear signal of where Pudu believes industrial quadruped robots are headed.
—
Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 5 Jan. 2026
The final event of the DARPA Triage Challenge will take place in November, and Team Chiron from Carnegie Mellon University will be competing, using a squad of quadruped robots and drones.
—IEEE Spectrum, 31 Dec. 2025
The quadruped is currently deployed at car manufacturing sites and in hazardous industrial areas around the world.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 3 Sep. 2025
To test the quadruped and learn how to adapt them for extraterrestrial environments, in August 2025, the research team took a second trip to White Sands National Park in New Mexico to test the quadruped in rugged terrrain most similiar to Mars.
—Jennifer Kite-Powell, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
More Kent Nishimura/AP A robotic quadruped, also known as a robot dog, during the US Army's 250th Anniversary Parade in Washington, DC, US, on Saturday, June 14, 2025.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 June 2025
Kawasaki Which is not to say that ride-on quadrupeds aren't going to be a thing.
—New Atlas, 6 Apr. 2025
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.
Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 5 Jan. 2026
The final event of the DARPA Triage Challenge will take place in November, and Team Chiron from Carnegie Mellon University will be competing, using a squad of quadruped robots and drones.
—IEEE Spectrum, 31 Dec. 2025
The quadruped is currently deployed at car manufacturing sites and in hazardous industrial areas around the world.
—Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 3 Sep. 2025
To test the quadruped and learn how to adapt them for extraterrestrial environments, in August 2025, the research team took a second trip to White Sands National Park in New Mexico to test the quadruped in rugged terrrain most similiar to Mars.
—Jennifer Kite-Powell, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
More Kent Nishimura/AP A robotic quadruped, also known as a robot dog, during the US Army's 250th Anniversary Parade in Washington, DC, US, on Saturday, June 14, 2025.
—Hannah Parry, MSNBC Newsweek, 15 June 2025
Kawasaki Which is not to say that ride-on quadrupeds aren't going to be a thing.
—New Atlas, 6 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Quadruped.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quadruped. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
quadruped
noun
quad·ru·ped
ˈkwäd-rə-ˌped 
: an animal having four feet
Medical Definition
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share