herbivore

[ hur-buh-vawr, -vohr ]

noun

1. a herbivorous animal.

herbivore

/ ˈhɜːbɪˌvɔː /

noun

1. an animal that feeds on grass and other plants
2. informal.
   a liberal, idealistic, or nonmaterialistic person

herbivore

/ hûr′bə-vôr′,ûr′- /

1. An animal that feeds mainly or only on plants. In a food chain, herbivores are primary consumers.
2. Compare carnivore

herbivore

1. A living thing that eats only plants. Cattle, sheep, and horses are herbivores.

Word History and Origins

Origin of herbivore¹

1850–55; < New Latin herbivorus; herb, -i-, -vore

Word History and Origins

Origin of herbivore¹

C19: from New Latin herbivora grass-eaters

Example Sentences

The newest — described on Thursday by a team of researchers in the journal PeerJ — is Lokiceratops rangiformis, a five-ton herbivore with spectacular, curving brow horns and huge, bladed spikes on its meter-long frill.

From New York Times

Deprived of a primary herbivore, the reefs succumbed to algal overgrowth and never fully recovered.

From Science Magazine

Ecological theory basically says if you have a really simple food chain — like the classic example of sea otters, urchin and kelp; one plant, one herbivore and one predator — if a predator is removed then urchins will overgraze on kelp.

From Seattle Times

These volatile compounds trigger the activation of defense genes, protecting against potential herbivore threats.

From Science Daily

The study shows that “a tight coevolutionary history” is not always necessary for this type of toxin sequestration to occur, says Paul Ode, a plant-insect herbivore ecologist at Colorado State University who wasn’t involved with the new research.

From Science Magazine

Related Words

• fruitarian
• vegan
• vegetarian