carnivore

noun

car·​ni·​vore ˈkär-nə-ˌvȯr 

1

a

: an animal (such as a dog, fox, crocodile, or shark) that feeds primarily or exclusively on animal matter : a carnivorous animal

Among the plankton are numerous diminutive but voracious carnivores, including small jellyfishes and comb jellies, saber-toothed creatures called arrowworms or chaetognaths, and a host of crustaceans and small fishes.

—Gregory A. Wray

As big as a bull elephant, T. rex weighed 15 times as much as the largest carnivores living on land today.

—Erik Stokstad

Carnivores [=people who eat meat] will appreciate the restaurant's refined version of surf-and-turf: steak au poivre matched with sweet, large prawns.

—Matthew DeBord

b

: any of an order (Carnivora) of animals that feed primarily or exclusively on animal matter : carnivoran

Farther back in their mouths lie some special teeth known as the carnassials. These are the hallmark of the true carnivores, or canivorans—members of a great order of placental mammals, the Carnivora.

—Richard H. Tedford

2

: a carnivorous plant

the Venus flytrap and other carnivores subsisting on insects

Examples of carnivore in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

An area where the tracks cross raises questions about possible interactions between the carnivores and herbivores. —Fox News, 9 Jan. 2025

From the shapes in the ground, the researchers conclude that the sauropod came by before the carnivore. —Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Jan. 2025

In addition to that, several smaller bones, such as hand and finger bones, had crushing fractures consistent with those caused by flat molars — like in humans — instead of sharp punctures typically caused by carnivores. —Monica Cull, Discover Magazine, 15 Dec. 2024

The length of the thumb claw is about 1 centimeter. 35,000 to 37,000 years old The mummified cub, which would have been a carnivore, was found in the Upper Pleistocene permafrost on the Badyarikha River in Yakutia, Russia, the study states. —Greta Cross, USA TODAY, 20 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

ultimately from Latin carnivorus

First Known Use

1833, in the meaning defined at sense 1b

Kids Definition

carnivore

noun

car·​ni·​vore ˈkär-nə-ˌvō(ə)r 

-ˌvȯ(ə)r

1

: a flesh-eating animal

especially : any of an order of flesh-eating mammals

2

: a plant that traps and digests insects