Definition of INSECTIVORE

insectivore

Plural: insectivores

Noun

  • small insect-eating mainly nocturnal terrestrial or fossorial mammals
  • any organism that feeds mainly on insects
  • Insect-eating animal or plant.
  • mammal of the now abandoned order Insectivora.

Examples

  • An anteater is an insectivore with a long sticky tongue to catch its prey.

Origin / Etymology

From French insectivore. In the zoological sense, coined by English philosopher and historian of science William Whewell in 1840 as an adaptation of Cuvier's coinage, French insectivore. The French terms reflect scientific New Latin origins. By surface analysis, insect + -i- + -vore.

Synonyms

insectivoran

Scrabble Score: 16

insectivore: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
insectivore: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
insectivore: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 19

insectivore: valid Words With Friends Word