carnivore

American  

[kahr-nuh-vawr] / ˈkɑr nəˌvɔr /

noun

1. any mammal of the order Carnivora that eats meat, fish, or other flesh, especially as its primary source of food: a category of mammals that includes dogs, cats, bears, seals, and weasels.

2. any animal that eats meat, fish, etc., especially as its primary source of food; meat-eater.

   alligators, snakes, and other reptilian carnivores.

3. any plant that traps and feeds on insects and/or arachnids, such as a Venus flytrap.

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carnivore British  

/ ˈkɑːnɪˌvɔː /

noun

1. any placental mammal of the order Carnivora, typically having large pointed canine teeth and sharp molars and premolars, specialized for eating flesh. The order includes cats, dogs, bears, raccoons, hyenas, civets, and weasels

2. any other animal or any plant that feeds on animals

3. informal an aggressively ambitious person

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carnivore Scientific  

/ kär′nə-vôr′ /

1. 1. An animal that feeds chiefly on the flesh of other animals. Carnivores include predators such as lions and alligators, and scavengers such as hyenas and vultures. In a food chain, carnivores are either secondary or tertiary consumers.

   2. Any of various generally meat-eating mammals of the order Carnivora. Carnivores have large, sharp canine teeth and large brains, and the musculoskeletal structure of their forelimbs permits great flexibility for springing at prey. Many carnivores remain in and defend a single territory. Dogs, cats, bears, weasels, raccoons, hyenas, and (according to some classifications) seals and walruses are all carnivores.

2. A plant that eats insects, such as a Venus flytrap.

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carnivore Cultural  

1. A living thing that eats meat. Among mammals, there is an order of carnivores, including primarily meat-eating animals such as tigers and dogs. Some plants, such as the Venus's-flytrap, are carnivores.

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Other Word Forms

• carnivoral adjective

Etymology

Origin of carnivore

First recorded in 1850–55; from French, from Latin carnivorus carnivorous

Explanation

A carnivore is something that feeds on the flesh of animals. “Did you know that cute little baby seals are carnivores? They eat penguins!” It’s a useful thing to be acquainted with the root vore, which means eat, because you can get herbivore (eats plants), omnivore (eats everything), and sanguivore (eats blood, yes, like vampires). It’s nice to know, too, that it’s not only animals that are carnivores. Some plants, like the Venus flytrap, eat insects, which makes them carnivores as well. It’s nice, too, to have the prefix of carnivore, carn or flesh, in your mind. The easiest way to remember it? Chili con carne, or chili with meat.

Example Sentences

"In North America and worldwide, carnivore communities are undergoing major changes," said Wesley Binder, a doctoral student at Oregon State University and lead author of the study.

From Science Daily • Mar. 3, 2026

The secretary, who has said he follows a carnivore diet, has lauded food companies that use beef tallow, the melted-down fatty tissue of cattle carcasses, instead of seed oils.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 15, 2025

At Granja Elena in Zona Franca, I enjoyed a tomato and scallop tartare that could entice even the staunchest carnivore.

From Salon • Dec. 6, 2025

Students must do a training stint in each of four main categories — carnivore, herbivore, bird and primate — so they may wind up working with animals they find unpleasant.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 11, 2025

She had loved and forgotten him by turns, an insatiable carnivore who lived on the affections of her dogs, her children and her lovers.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Related Words

• carnivorous
• flesh-eating
• meat-eating