ANTEATER

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 Dictionary entry overview: What does anteater mean? 

• ANTEATER (noun)
  The noun ANTEATER has 6 senses:

1. toothless mammal of southern Africa and Asia having a body covered with horny scales and a long snout for feeding on ants and termites

2. any of several tropical American mammals of the family Myrmecophagidae which lack teeth and feed on ants and termites

3. nocturnal burrowing mammal of the grasslands of Africa that feeds on termites; sole extant representative of the order Tubulidentata

4. small Australian marsupial having long snout and strong claws for feeding on termites; nearly extinct

5. a burrowing monotreme mammal covered with spines and having a long snout and claws for hunting ants and termites; native to New Guinea

6. a burrowing monotreme mammal covered with spines and having a long snout and claws for hunting ants and termites; native to Australia

  Familiarity information: ANTEATER used as a noun is common.

 Dictionary entry details 

• ANTEATER (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Toothless mammal of southern Africa and Asia having a body covered with horny scales and a long snout for feeding on ants and termites

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

anteater; pangolin; scaly anteater

Hypernyms ("anteater" is a kind of...):

eutherian; eutherian mammal; placental; placental mammal (mammals having a placenta; all mammals except monotremes and marsupials)

Holonyms ("anteater" is a member of...):

genus Manis; Manis (type genus of the Manidae)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Any of several tropical American mammals of the family Myrmecophagidae which lack teeth and feed on ants and termites

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

anteater; New World anteater

Hypernyms ("anteater" is a kind of...):

edentate (primitive terrestrial mammal with few if any teeth; of tropical Central America and South America)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "anteater"):

ant bear; giant anteater; great anteater; Myrmecophaga jubata; tamanoir (large shaggy-haired toothless anteater with long tongue and powerful claws; of South America)

Cyclopes didactylus; silky anteater; two-toed anteater (squirrel-sized South American toothless anteater with long silky golden fur)

lesser anteater; tamandu; tamandua; Tamandua tetradactyla (small toothless anteater with prehensile tail and four-clawed forelimbs; of tropical South America and Central America)

Holonyms ("anteater" is a member of...):

family Myrmecophagidae; Myrmecophagidae (New World anteaters)

Sense 3

Meaning:

Nocturnal burrowing mammal of the grasslands of Africa that feeds on termites; sole extant representative of the order Tubulidentata

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

aardvark; ant bear; anteater; Orycteropus afer

Hypernyms ("anteater" is a kind of...):

eutherian; eutherian mammal; placental; placental mammal (mammals having a placenta; all mammals except monotremes and marsupials)

Holonyms ("anteater" is a member of...):

genus Orycteropus; Orycteropus (coextensive with the family Orycteropodidae)

Sense 4

Meaning:

Small Australian marsupial having long snout and strong claws for feeding on termites; nearly extinct

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

anteater; banded anteater; Myrmecobius fasciatus; numbat

Hypernyms ("anteater" is a kind of...):

dasyurid; dasyurid marsupial (small carnivorous nocturnal marsupials of Australia and Tasmania)

Holonyms ("anteater" is a member of...):

genus Myrmecobius; Myrmecobius (banded anteater)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A burrowing monotreme mammal covered with spines and having a long snout and claws for hunting ants and termites; native to New Guinea

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

anteater; echidna; spiny anteater

Hypernyms ("anteater" is a kind of...):

egg-laying mammal; monotreme (the most primitive mammals comprising the only extant members of the subclass Prototheria)

Holonyms ("anteater" is a member of...):

genus Zaglossus; Zaglossus (a genus of Tachyglossidae)

Sense 6

Meaning:

A burrowing monotreme mammal covered with spines and having a long snout and claws for hunting ants and termites; native to Australia

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

anteater; echidna; spiny anteater

Hypernyms ("anteater" is a kind of...):

egg-laying mammal; monotreme (the most primitive mammals comprising the only extant members of the subclass Prototheria)

Holonyms ("anteater" is a member of...):

genus Tachyglossus; Tachyglossus (type genus of the family Tachyglossidae)