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The quadrupeds include almost all the mammals. (Among the exceptions are whales, bats, and humans.) The Greek equivalent of this Latin word is tetrapod. However, the two are not identical, since the tetrapod classification includes bipeds such as birds, in which two of the limbs are no longer used for walking. Insects all have six legs, of course, and in the sea there are eight-legged octopods (including the octopus). But there are no animals of any kind with an odd number of legs.
Examples of quadruped in a Sentence
Paul Ridden, New Atlas, 21 Oct. 2024
The quadruped has some other useful capabilities that put it ahead of small drones.
—David Hambling, Forbes, 16 Aug. 2024
Though robot quadrupeds can be fast, agile, useful and perhaps even cute, padding around on all fours might not be suitable for all situations.
—Paul Ridden, New Atlas, 31 July 2024
While unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been remotely delivering lethal force under human command for at least two decades, the rise of inexpensive robotic quadrupeds—some available for as little as $1,600—has led to a new round of experimentation with strapping weapons to their backs.
—Benj Edwards, Ars Technica, 8 May 2024
Hutter: There’s a lot of ongoing research on quadrupeds with arms, and the nice thing is that these technologies that are developed for mobile systems with arms are the same technologies that are used in humanoids.
—IEEE Spectrum, 11 Apr. 2024
Sauropods were massive, herbivorous quadrupeds easily recognizable for their long necks, if not their huge bodies.
—Isaac Schultz / Gizmodo, Quartz, 28 Mar. 2024
Its historical significance derives from a curious quadruped that has lived there for roughly a hundred thousand years: the horse.
—Manvir Singh, The New Yorker, 25 Dec. 2023
Advertisement At a standstill in the two-hour standoff, cops deployed their robotic quadruped to sniff out the situation, according to Ohana.
—Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 8 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'quadruped.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Quadruped.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/quadruped. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
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quadruped
noun
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