saber-toothed cat

variants: or saber-toothed tiger or less commonly saber-tooth cat or saber-tooth tiger

Definition of saber-toothed cat

1 : any of various extinct carnivorous cats (such as genus Smilodon) that were widely distributed in the Oligocene through the Pleistocene of both the Old and New World, are characterized by elongation of the upper canines into curved, piercing or slashing, dagger-like weapons and in enlargement of the gape with corresponding muscular and skeletal changes, and that constitute a distinct felid subfamily (Machairodontinae)

2 : any of various extinct North American, Eurasian, and African catlike carnivores (as of the genera Hoplophoneus and Nimravus of the family Nimravidae) of the Late Eocene to Late Miocene that resemble the typical saber-toothed cats

Examples of saber-toothed cat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web And the kids also named great white shark, panda, wolf, elephant and saber-toothed cat among their favorites. — Washington Post, "January’s Class of KidsPost: Fifth-graders at Barcroft Elementary in Arlington," 12 Jan. 2020 The lucky few can chance upon fossils that can date to the Ice Age and beyond; recent finds include a tooth from an ancient 60-foot great white shark called a megalodon off Santa Cruz, and a saber-toothed cat near Ocean Beach in San Francisco. — Tom Stienstra, SFChronicle.com, "Whale skull washes up in Marin: What’s coming next?," 27 Oct. 2019 The saber-toothed cat, for instance, simply couldn't adapt. — Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, "Fossilized teeth of Ice Age predators yield clues to why certain species survived," 6 Aug. 2019 Their tracks are preserved in the alkali flats of the valley floor—mammoth, dire wolf, saber-toothed cat, North American camel, and giant ground sloth, all dating back to the last ice age. — Hayden Carpenter, Outside Online, "Our Next National Park Could Be in New Mexico," 3 July 2018 Smilodon, a saber-toothed cat around the size of today’s African lion, skulked across the grasslands in search of ground sloths and mammoths. — Jason G. Goldman, Scientific American, "In 200 Years Cows May Be the Biggest Land Mammals on the Planet," 20 Apr. 2018 The outgoing Regal’s manual, regrettably, has followed the saber-toothed cat and its cousin, the Buick Wildcat convertible, into the mists of memory. — Davey G. Johnson, Car and Driver, "2018 Buick Regal GS," 23 Feb. 2018 Now, a team of researchers in Germany has analyzed mitochondrial DNA from the North Sea fossil, comparing it with that from two saber-toothed cat fossils from North and South America. — Gretchen Vogel, Science | AAAS, "This jaw bone bolsters the case for human contact with saber-toothed cats in Europe," 19 Oct. 2017 Both were only distantly related to the DNA from another saber-toothed cat, Smilodon populator, in a fossil from Chile. — Gretchen Vogel, Science | AAAS, "This jaw bone bolsters the case for human contact with saber-toothed cats in Europe," 19 Oct. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'saber-toothed cat.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

19 Jan 2020

Cite this Entry

“Saber-toothed cat.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/saber-toothed%20cat. Accessed 18 Feb. 2020.

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