insectivorous
feeding on insects, especially when they constitute the entire diet, as in the case of many arachnids, birds, and small mammals.
Botany. having specialized leaves or leaf parts capable of trapping and digesting insects, as the Venus flytrap, the pitcher plants, and the sundews.
Origin of insectivorous
1usage note For insectivorous
Other words from insectivorous
- in·sec·tiv·o·ry, noun
- Compare entomophagous.
Words Nearby insectivorous
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use insectivorous in a sentence
This the insectivorous birds know so well that not one will ever eat such insects.
Colouration in Animals and Plants | Alfred Tylorinsectivorous plants and the rarer vascular cryptogams were specially well represented.
When the trouble is caused by a worm or an insect, some insectivorous bird is called in for the same purpose.
The Sacred Formulas of the Cherokees | James MooneyUsed to feed larks, nightingales, and other insectivorous birds.
I have been working for some time on a special subject, namely insectivorous plants.
More Letters of Charles Darwin Volume II | Charles Darwin
British Dictionary definitions for insectivorous
/ (ˌɪnsɛkˈtɪvərəs) /
feeding on or adapted for feeding on insects: insectivorous plants
of or relating to the order Insectivora
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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