vulture

noun

vul·​ture ˈvəl-chər How to pronounce vulture (audio)
1
: any of various large birds (families Accipitridae and Cathartidae) that are related to the hawks, eagles, and falcons but have weaker claws and the head usually naked and that subsist chiefly or entirely on carrion
2
: a rapacious or predatory person
vulturish adjective

Examples of vulture in a Sentence

As soon as they learned of his arrest, the media vultures started circling. noted that the paparazzi are vultures who could not exist without the connivance of the tabloid-buying public
Recent Examples on the Web Turkey vultures have enlarged nostrils and a heightened sense of smell to detect freshly rotting meat. Ramon Padilla, USA TODAY, 23 Oct. 2024 Back in the early ‘80s, there were more than 40 million vultures of various species in South Asia. Popular Science Team, Popular Science, 9 Oct. 2024 Tribal communities have long acknowledged vultures in story and physical depictions. Debra Utacia Krol, The Arizona Republic, 22 Sep. 2024 As both rose from obscure culture vultures to industry players, their gripes turned to more rarefied subjects, like red-carpet anxiety. Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 16 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for vulture 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vulture.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English vultur, from Anglo-French, from Latin

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of vulture was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near vulture

Cite this Entry

“Vulture.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vulture. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Kids Definition

vulture

noun
vul·​ture ˈvəl-chər How to pronounce vulture (audio)
1
: any of various large birds that feed mostly on animals found dead and that are related to the hawks and eagles but have weaker claws and the head usually naked
2
: a greedy or predatory person

More from Merriam-Webster on vulture

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