vulture

noun

vul·​ture ˈvəl-chər 

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

ˈvəl-chə-rish 

adjective

Synonyms of vulture

• predator
• vampire

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

The moral injury from which hip-hop could not heal, in his mind, was the incursion of capitalism, the selling out, the culture-vulture turn that Bambaataa spoke to and spoke to freely. —Doreen St. Félix, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 2026

Topa Topa is the first California condor to have lived in a zoo setting, and in honor of Earth Month, the Los Angeles Zoo is recognizing the 60-year-old vulture as a conservation icon. —Julie Sharp, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026

Ratio relievers *Multi-inning or bridge relievers who can vulture wins and help protect ratios. —Greg Jewett, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2026

Overhead, vultures, crows and gulls swarmed, feeding on carcasses and insects and other waste. —CNN Money, 15 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English vultur, from Anglo-French, from Latin

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing vulture

• bearded vulture
• turkey vulture
• vulture capitalism

Rhymes for vulture

• culture
• kultur
• agriculture
• apiculture
• aquaculture
• counterculture
• floriculture
• horticulture
• mariculture
• monoculture
• sericulture
• silviculture

Kids Definition

vulture

noun

vul·​ture ˈvəl-chər 

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