raptor

noun

rap·​tor ˈrap-tər 

-ˌtȯr

1

: a carnivorous medium- to large-sized bird (such as a hawk, eagle, owl, or vulture) that has a hooked beak and large sharp talons and that feeds wholly or chiefly on meat taken by hunting or on carrion : bird of prey

2

: a usually small-to-medium-sized predatory dinosaur (such as a velociraptor or deinonychus)

Examples of raptor in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The hyper-carnivorous raptors of Silicon Valley—Google, Apple, Amazon, and Meta—will fix their steely eyes on the plump prey of your best employees and your intellectual property. —Lauren Goode Michael Calore, WIRED, 8 Aug. 2024

Before this center, L.A. County partnered with bird rescue Wild Wings of California to look after raptors in need. —Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2024

The app identified it as a Mississippi kite, a small raptor uncommon to northern Virginia. —Theodore R. Johnson, Washington Post, 31 July 2024

Pilot projects have even tested the use of raptors to catch rodents. —Bydina Fine Maron, science.org, 10 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

(sense 1) after New Latin Raptores, former order name, going back to Latin, plural of raptor "plunderer, robber, a beast or bird of prey," from rapere "to seize and carry off, take away by force" + -tor, agent suffix; (sense 2) borrowed from New Latin -raptor (as in velociraptor) — more at rapid entry 1

First Known Use

1873, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

raptor

noun

rap·​tor ˈrap-tər 

: bird of prey

Etymology

Latin raptor "plunderer," from rapere "to seize"