mammal

noun

mam·​mal ˈma-məl How to pronounce mammal (audio)
: 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
mammalian adjective or noun
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Third, prolonged circulation in cattle increases the risk of the virus adapting to mammals, including humans. Kimberly Dodd, The Conversation, 16 Jan. 2025 Péron recorded 23 species of mammals on the peninsula, but by 1990, with stock-keeping degrading the land and introduced predators such as foxes and feral cats taking their toll on the local wildlife, fewer than half that number remained. Keith Drew, AFAR Media, 16 Jan. 2025 The story white scientists crafted about these first mammals showed how deep time could operate to exclude. Caroline Winterer / Made By History, TIME, 14 Jan. 2025 Taken together with the bones, however—and with some help from modern technology—these earthen imprints give a holistic picture of the prehistoric creatures that sashayed along in their heyday, oblivious to the puny mammals of the future who would gawk at their footprints millions of years later. Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for mammal 

Word History

Etymology

from base of New Latin Mammalia (Linnaeus), class name, noun derivative from neuter plural of mammālis, from Latin mamma "breast, udder" + -ālis -al entry 1 — more at mamma entry 1

First Known Use

1811, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of mammal was in 1811

Dictionary Entries Near mammal

Cite this Entry

“Mammal.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mammal. Accessed 22 Jan. 2025.

Kids Definition

mammal

noun
mam·​mal ˈmam-əl How to pronounce mammal (audio)
: 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

mammal

noun
mam·​mal ˈmam-əl How to pronounce mammal (audio)
: any of the higher vertebrate animals comprising the class Mammalia
mammalian adjective or noun

More from Merriam-Webster on mammal

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