hunter-gatherer

noun

hunt·​er-gath·​er·​er ˈhən-tər-ˈga-t͟hər-ər How to pronounce hunter-gatherer (audio)
: a member of a culture in which food is obtained by hunting, fishing, and foraging rather than by agriculture or animal husbandry

Examples of hunter-gatherer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
In some ways, tracking’s revival began in the 1980s, when a South African physics student named Louis Liebenberg abandoned his studies, bought a Land Cruiser and drove into the Kalahari Desert to commune with the San, a group of hunter-gatherers that includes the Ju/’hoansi. Ben Goldfarb, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024 Desperate to save her daughter, Bea enters into a volunteer study to live as a hunter-gatherer in the Wilderness State. Clare Mulroy, USA TODAY, 20 Oct. 2024 Early hunter-gatherers had multiple gene copies, but early European farmers saw a surge in the average number of AMY1 copies over the past 4,000 years. Laura Baisas, Popular Science, 17 Oct. 2024 These ancient hunter-gatherers also depended on the cenotes as a water source, and probably for shelter as well. Martin Broen, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for hunter-gatherer 

Word History

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hunter-gatherer was in 1938

Dictionary Entries Near hunter-gatherer

Cite this Entry

“Hunter-gatherer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hunter-gatherer. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

hunter-gatherer

noun
hunt·​er-gath·​er·​er
-ˈgat͟h-ər-ər,
-ˈget͟h-
: a member of a culture in which food is gotten by hunting, fishing, and gathering rather than by agriculture

More from Merriam-Webster on hunter-gatherer

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