easy
An owl is a predator that hunts mice.
What does Predator mean?
A predator is an organism that hunts and eats other organisms; the word can also mean someone who exploits or harms others.
Dictionary definition
A predator is an organism that gets food by killing and eating other organisms, especially an animal that hunts other animals. Predator can also mean a person or organization that deliberately exploits or harms people who are less able to protect themselves.
Example sentences
Predator in a sentence
medium
A frog can be both a predator of insects and prey for a heron.
hard
Removing a top predator can change populations throughout a food web.
hard
The safety lesson explained how an online predator may try to gain a young person's trust.
Writing practice
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Quick practice
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Practice the meaning of Predator
Answer three quick questions about its meaning and related words.
Question 1 of 3
Practice 1
What is a predator in ecology?
Predator names a feeding role, not a size, habitat, or animal group.
Practice 2
Which sentence shows that one animal can be predator and prey?
The frog is the fly's predator and the heron's prey.
Practice 3
Which use of predator is about safety rather than ecology?
Here predator means a person who tries to exploit or harm someone.
Practice complete
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Pronunciation coach
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Predator
Voice settings
Sounds like
pred · uh · ter · strongest beat: pred
Tap each sound part, then blend the whole word together.
Learn
WordPredator.
Partnoun.
MeaningPredator means A predator is an organism that hunts and eats other organisms; the word can also mean someone who exploits or harms others.
ExampleExample: An owl is a predator that hunts mice.
Word breakdown
3 syllables. Say each part, then blend the word.
- Syllables
- pred · uh · ter
- Strongest beat
- pred
- Ending
- ter
- Tip
- Put a little extra energy on pred.
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Synonyms
Words like Predator
hunterA close synonym for an animal that actively searches for and captures prey; some predators use traps or ambushes instead.
exploiterA close synonym only for the human or organizational sense involving unfair use of others.
Antonyms
Opposite words
preyA direct ecological role contrast: prey is hunted or eaten by a predator, although one animal can fill both roles in a food web.
Synonym practice
Want to practice predator synonyms in context? Try a Synonym Search question like "The owl is a predator that hunts small animals," then compare close word choices. Practice predator synonyms.
Word family
Predator word family
Base word
predator
noun
predators
The plural form of predator.
adjective
predatory
Related to hunting prey or exploiting others.
noun
predation
The ecological interaction in which a predator kills and eats prey.
Related words
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Student support
Understand Predator
Hint for students
Predator describes a role in a feeding relationship. Ask what the organism kills and eats, not whether it is large or frightening.
Common mix-up
Predator is not the same as carnivore: some predators eat animals without being strict carnivores, and some carnivores scavenge. When predator refers to a harmful person, tell a trusted adult about unsafe contact.
Try it in class or at home
Students connect organism cards with arrows showing who eats whom. They label each end predator or prey, identify animals with both roles, and explain one population change if a predator disappears.
Teacher prompt
How can the same frog be a predator in one food-web connection and prey in another? Use eats and is eaten by in your explanation.
Animal Classification Wheel
Compare animals with the Classification Vocabulary Wheel
Spin this researched animal vocabulary wheel to compare body groups, backbones, diets, predator-prey roles, and the evidence behind each classification.
Learning activities
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