Meaning & use
a quadruped
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Meanings
nouncountabletechnical
An animal that walks on four legs, such as a dog, horse, or lizard.
Grammar: Countable: say 'a quadruped' for one animal and 'quadrupeds' for several.
Patterns
- a quadruped such as something
- most quadrupeds
- a four-legged quadruped
A horse is a quadruped, while a bird is not.
Most quadrupeds use their front legs mainly for support and their back legs for pushing forward.
In the museum display, the skeleton of a large quadruped stood beside a two-legged dinosaur.
nouncountablespecialistbiology
An animal with four feet or limbs used for walking, as opposed to one with two or none.
Grammar: Used in biology and zoology writing; the plural 'quadrupeds' refers to the whole group.
Patterns
- quadrupeds and bipeds
- classify something as a quadruped
Scientists often divide land animals into quadrupeds and bipeds.
The textbook explains how quadrupeds move differently from animals that hop on two legs.
Word forms
| plural | quadrupeds |
|---|
Common combinations
- a four-legged quadruped
- The deer is a four-legged quadruped that can run very fast.
- large quadrupeds
- Large quadrupeds like elephants need a lot of food each day.
- land quadrupeds
- Land quadrupeds such as wolves have strong legs for long distances.
- most quadrupeds
- Most quadrupeds stand on all four feet when they rest.
- a species of quadruped
- The zebra is a species of quadruped native to Africa.
Synonyms and how they differ
- four-legged animal
- This is the everyday phrase; use it in conversation, and keep 'quadruped' for science writing.
- tetrapod
- A tetrapod is any animal with four limbs, including whales and birds, so it is broader than 'quadruped', which stresses walking on four legs.
Opposites
Word family
- quadrupedal adjective
- Describing movement or posture that uses four legs, as in 'a quadrupedal gait'.
Commonly confused: a quadruped or quadruplet? a quadruped or quadriceps?
a quadruped vs quadruplet
A quadruplet is one of four babies born at the same time; a quadruped is an animal with four legs.
a quadruped vs quadriceps
The quadriceps is a group of muscles at the front of the thigh; a quadruped is a four-legged animal.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'quadruped' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Quadruped' describes an animal that walks on four legs, so option 1 fits. The others confuse it with 'quadruplet' (four babies) or invent unrelated meanings.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a quadruped”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.