Illustration of tapir
plural tapirs also tapir
: any of a genus (Tapirus) of herbivorous chiefly nocturnal perissodactyl mammals of tropical America and southeastern Asia from Myanmar to Sumatra that have a heavy sparsely hairy body and the snout and upper lip prolonged into a short flexible proboscis
Examples of tapir in a Sentence
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Since then the rainforest, which shelters hundreds of medicinal plants as well as tapirs, jaguarundis, peccaries, anteaters, and countless tropical bird species, has slowly begun to recover.
—
Gina Decaprio Vercesi, Travel + Leisure, 23 Jan. 2025
Elephants, for instance, became tapirs, with stubby trunks and legs.
—Caroline Winterer / Made By History, TIME, 14 Jan. 2025
Frida, a 5-year-old Baird's tapir, arrived at the zoo on Oct. 3, 2023, from the Houston Zoo, and also completed a standard 30-day quarantine.
—Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 30 Dec. 2024
At home in the tropical forests of Central and South America, these bats feed on various animals, including tapirs, mountain lions, penguins, and, most often nowadays, livestock.
—Sebastian Stockmaier, Discover Magazine, 31 Oct. 2024
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Gina Decaprio Vercesi, Travel + Leisure, 23 Jan. 2025
Elephants, for instance, became tapirs, with stubby trunks and legs.
—Caroline Winterer / Made By History, TIME, 14 Jan. 2025
Frida, a 5-year-old Baird's tapir, arrived at the zoo on Oct. 3, 2023, from the Houston Zoo, and also completed a standard 30-day quarantine.
—Amy Schwabe, Journal Sentinel, 30 Dec. 2024
At home in the tropical forests of Central and South America, these bats feed on various animals, including tapirs, mountain lions, penguins, and, most often nowadays, livestock.
—Sebastian Stockmaier, Discover Magazine, 31 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for tapir
Dictionary Entries Near tapir
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“Tapir.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tapir. Accessed 6 Feb. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
tapir
noun
ta·pir
ˈtā-pər 
plural tapir or tapirs
: any of several plant-eating hoofed mammals of tropical America and southeastern Asia that are related to the horse and rhinoceros and have a long flexible snout, a very short tail, and short thick legs
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