vampire bat

noun

: any of several bats (Desmodus rotundus, Diaemus youngi, and Diphylla ecaudata of the subfamily Desmodontinae of the family Phyllostomidae) of Mexico and Central and South America that feed on the blood of birds and mammals and especially domestic animals and that are sometimes vectors of disease and especially of rabies

also : any of several other bats (as of the families Megadermatidae and Phyllostomidae) that do not feed on blood but are sometimes reputed to do so

Illustration of vampire bat

Examples of vampire bat in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The common vampire bat shares its food with roostmates whose hunt ended in failure. —Tim Brinkhof, Discover Magazine, 9 Mar. 2021

The case marked the first rabies death in the United States due to a vampire bat. —Emily Mullin, WIRED, 31 Oct. 2023

Baby Pink Vampire Bat Costume $30 at Amazon Never before have vampire bats seemed so ... stylish? —Marisa Lascala, Good Housekeeping, 22 Aug. 2023

Fittingly, vampire bats release an anticoagulant cocktail called Draculin in their saliva instead. 5. —Sofia Quaglia, Discover Magazine, 31 May 2023

To see how the bats can survive on the nutrient-poor liquid diet, Michael Hiller, a genomics expert at the LOEWE Center for Translational Biodiversity Genomics, and his team sequenced the genomes of 26 other bat species and compared them to the vampire bat genome. —Elizabeth Gamillo, Smithsonian Magazine, 29 Mar. 2022

That vampire bat recognizes you. —Seriously Science, Discover Magazine, 31 Oct. 2016

As if Alabama’s insurrection-inciting Mo Brooks wasn’t batty enough, now he’s teamed up with white vampire bat Stephen Miller. —J.d. Crowe | [e-mail], al, 22 Mar. 2021

This study establishes the first case of the hairy-legged vampire bat consuming human blood. —Leah Froats, Discover Magazine, 18 Sep. 2017

See More

Word History

First Known Use

1790, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

vampire bat

noun

: any of three bats of Mexico and Central and South America that feed on blood especially of domestic animals and sometimes carry and pass on diseases (as rabies)

also : any of several other bats that do not feed on blood but are sometimes said to do so

Medical Definition

vampire bat

noun

: any of several Central and South American bats (Desmodus rotundus, Diaemus youngi, and Diphylla ecaudata) that feed on the blood of birds and mammals and especially domestic animals and that are sometimes vectors of disease and especially of rabies

also : any of several other bats that do not feed on blood but are sometimes reputed to do so