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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
Dogs can bark, but robots can talk back Even the most advanced quadruped robot on the market today can’t match a real dog’s innate sense of smell or its highly developed navigational instincts.
—
Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 11 Sep. 2025
The quadruped bot has four legs that can be equipped with wheels instead of conventional foot pads.
—New Atlas, 3 Sep. 2025
Each environment teaches the quadruped something new.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 22 Aug. 2025
The August trip to White Sands showed the quadruped could act autonomously.
—Jennifer Kite-Powell, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
This is another quadruped exercise that works the glutes, improving the stability and strength of the hip joint.
—Jakob Roze, Health, 19 Aug. 2025
Less than two weeks after its last release, MagicLab unveils another breakthrough — MagicDog-W, the wheeled quadruped robot.
—IEEE Spectrum, 25 July 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
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Mack Degeurin, Popular Science, 11 Sep. 2025
The quadruped bot has four legs that can be equipped with wheels instead of conventional foot pads.
—New Atlas, 3 Sep. 2025
Each environment teaches the quadruped something new.
—Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 22 Aug. 2025
The August trip to White Sands showed the quadruped could act autonomously.
—Jennifer Kite-Powell, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025
This is another quadruped exercise that works the glutes, improving the stability and strength of the hip joint.
—Jakob Roze, Health, 19 Aug. 2025
Less than two weeks after its last release, MagicLab unveils another breakthrough — MagicDog-W, the wheeled quadruped robot.
—IEEE Spectrum, 25 July 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
Cite this Entry
“Quadruped.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quadruped. Accessed 17 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
quadruped
noun
quad·ru·ped
ˈkwäd-rə-ˌped 
: an animal having four feet
Medical Definition
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