: any of a class (Mammalia) of warm-blooded higher vertebrates (such as placentals, marsupials, or monotremes) that nourish their young with milk secreted by mammary glands, have the skin usually more or less covered with hair, and include humans
mammal-like
adjective
or less commonly mammallike
mammal-like behavior
mammallike reptiles
Examples of mammal in a Sentence
Human beings, dogs, and cats are all mammals.
Recent Examples on the Web
See the seas’ fish, underwater mammals and birds, reptiles, coral and more!
—
Tracy Scott Forson, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Apr. 2024
For context, that means the duck was flying as fast as Hall-of-Famer Aroldis Chapman’s fastball and twice as fast as the world’s fastest land mammal, the cheetah, can run.
—Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 17 Apr. 2024
These flying mammals play a vital role in Indiana’s ecosystem and even its economy.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 16 Apr. 2024
Cicadas are a crucial food source for numerous predators, including birds, mammals, reptiles and other insects, thereby supporting biodiversity, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
—The Arizona Republic, 11 Apr. 2024
The virus sample taken from the patient had one additional mutation that’s linked to spread in mammals.
—Sara G. Miller, NBC News, 4 Apr. 2024
Preliminary genetic analysis of the strains collected from cattle has not yet found any telltale mutations that would make the virus clearly more capable of easily infecting or sickening mammals—humans included.
—Ed Cara / Gizmodo, Quartz, 2 Apr. 2024
Despite their underwater habitat, whales are mammals.
—Olivia Munson, USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2024
The virus has caused large outbreaks in mink and foxes, and wiped out thousands of marine mammals, especially in South America.
—Apoorva Mandavilli, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024
Tracy Scott Forson, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Apr. 2024
For context, that means the duck was flying as fast as Hall-of-Famer Aroldis Chapman’s fastball and twice as fast as the world’s fastest land mammal, the cheetah, can run.
—Katie Hill, Outdoor Life, 17 Apr. 2024
These flying mammals play a vital role in Indiana’s ecosystem and even its economy.
—Karl Schneider, The Indianapolis Star, 16 Apr. 2024
Cicadas are a crucial food source for numerous predators, including birds, mammals, reptiles and other insects, thereby supporting biodiversity, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
—The Arizona Republic, 11 Apr. 2024
The virus sample taken from the patient had one additional mutation that’s linked to spread in mammals.
—Sara G. Miller, NBC News, 4 Apr. 2024
Preliminary genetic analysis of the strains collected from cattle has not yet found any telltale mutations that would make the virus clearly more capable of easily infecting or sickening mammals—humans included.
—Ed Cara / Gizmodo, Quartz, 2 Apr. 2024
Despite their underwater habitat, whales are mammals.
—Olivia Munson, USA TODAY, 1 Apr. 2024
The virus has caused large outbreaks in mink and foxes, and wiped out thousands of marine mammals, especially in South America.
—Apoorva Mandavilli, New York Times, 9 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mammal.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near mammal
Cite this Entry
“Mammal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mammal. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mammal
noun
mam·mal
ˈmam-əl 
: any of a class of warm-blooded vertebrates that include human beings and all other animals that nourish their young with milk produced by mammary glands and have the skin usually more or less covered with hair
Medical Definition
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