smilodon

[ smahy-luh-don ]

noun

1. any of several saber-toothed cats of the extinct genus Smilodon, that ranged from California through most of South America during the Pleistocene Epoch and had upper canine teeth more than 6 inches (15 centimeters) long.

Word History and Origins

Origin of smilodon¹

From New Latin (1842), from Greek smī́l(ē) “knife” + -odōn “-toothed, having teeth” ( -odont )

Example Sentences

The fearsome, saber-like teeth of Smilodon fatalis -- California's state fossil -- are familiar to anyone who has ever visited Los Angeles' La Brea Tar Pits, a sticky trap from which more than 2,000 saber-toothed cat skulls have been excavated over more than a century.

From Science Daily

Paleontologists still do not know how saber-toothed animals like Smilodon hunted prey without breaking their unwieldy sabers.

From Science Daily

Thanks to the wealth of saber-toothed cat fossils, which includes many thousands of skeletal parts in addition to skulls, unearthed from the La Brea Tar Pits, scientists know a lot more about Smilodon fatalis than about any other saber-toothed animal, even though at least five separate lineages of saber-toothed animals evolved around the world.

From Science Daily

Smilodon roamed widely across North America and into Central America, going extinct about 10,000 years ago.

From Science Daily

And if history is any indication, they may get a lot bigger—the largest feline ever was the South American saber-toothed cat, Smilodon populator, which weighed nearly half a ton!

From Slate