Meaning & use
carnivore
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Meanings
nouncountable
An animal that eats mostly or only the flesh of other animals.
Grammar: Countable: one carnivore, two carnivores; often used in science writing about diets.
Patterns
- a carnivore that feeds on something
- a large carnivore
- carnivores in the wild
Lions and wolves are carnivores that hunt other animals for food.
The zoo explains what each carnivore eats and how it catches its prey.
In this region, the biggest carnivore is the brown bear.
nouncountableinformalhumorous
A person who eats meat, especially someone who eats mostly meat.
Grammar: Informal and slightly humorous when used for people; for animals it is the normal scientific word.
Patterns
- be a carnivore
- a committed carnivore
My brother is a real carnivore and orders steak every time we eat out.
At the barbecue, the carnivores were happy and the vegetarians had salad.
Word forms
| plural | carnivores |
|---|
Common combinations
- a large carnivore
- Wolves are the largest carnivores left in this forest.
- a top carnivore
- Sharks are top carnivores in the ocean food chain.
- feed on something
- These carnivores feed on fish and small mammals.
- a carnivore's diet
- A carnivore's diet contains almost no plant material.
- carnivore species
- Several carnivore species in the park are protected by law.
Synonyms and how they differ
- meat-eater
- Plain everyday word; carnivore is the scientific term and is used for animals in biology.
- predator
- A predator hunts and kills animals, but it may also eat plants, so it is not exactly the same as a carnivore.
Opposites
Word family
- carnivorous adjective
- Describing an animal or plant that eats flesh.
- carnivora noun
- The scientific name of a group of mammals such as cats, dogs, and bears.
Commonly confused: carnivore or herbivore? carnivore or predator?
carnivore vs herbivore
A herbivore eats only plants, while a carnivore eats animal flesh; an omnivore eats both.
carnivore vs predator
A predator hunts other animals, but the word says nothing about diet, so a plant-eating hunter is still a predator.
Practice
Which sentence uses "carnivore" correctly?
Choose one answer.
Owls eat mice, so they are carnivores. Option An is wrong because cows eat plants, and option C describes a herbivore.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “carnivore”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.