animal
/ˈænəməl/ noun A1- A multicellular organism of the kingdom Animalia that is usually mobile, with cells that are not encased in a rigid cell wall (distinguishing them from plants and fungi) and derives energy solely from the consumption of other organisms. · Near-synonym: critter· Humans, like other animals, need air to breathe and food to eat.
- Any member of the kingdom Animalia other than a human.
- A higher animal; an animal related to humans. · When he's hungry my toddler opens his mouth like an animal instead of asking us to feed him.
- A tetrapod; a land-dwelling nonhuman vertebrate.
- A warm-blooded animal; a mammal or bird.
- A non-human mammal. · I spent my summer studying the animals and birds of the two islands.
- A person who behaves wildly; a bestial, brutal, brutish, cruel, or inhuman person. · My students are animals.
- A person who overeats or eats rapidly and noisily.
Plural animals
From the library
“Only a mouse!” cried the little animal, indignantly.
“Oh, I beg your pardon!” cried Alice hastily, afraid that she had hurt the poor animal’s feelings.
It was high time to go, for the pool was getting quite crowded with the birds and animals that had fallen into it: there were a Duck and a Dodo, a Lory and an Eaglet, and several other curious creatures.
They were indeed a queer-looking party that assembled on the bank—the birds with draggled feathers, the animals with their fur clinging close to them, and all dripping wet, cross, and uncomfortable.
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