piscivorous

[ pi-siv-er-uhs ]

adjective
  1. adapted to feeding on fish; fish-eating.

Origin of piscivorous

1
First recorded in 1660–70; pisci- + -vorous

Words Nearby piscivorous

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use piscivorous in a sentence

  • In the true seals the dentition is strikingly piscivorous, the cheek teeth often having accessory cusps (fig. 86).

    The Vertebrate Skeleton | Sidney H. Reynolds
  • The dentition is typically piscivorous, being adapted for seizing active slippery animals such as fish.

    The Vertebrate Skeleton | Sidney H. Reynolds
  • The same motion is, however, performed by some piscivorous birds, which are not provided with this particular bone.

  • The birds are chiefly piscivorous, and all are migratory, passing southwards on the approach of winter.

  • The water-moccasin (Agkistrodon piscivorous) is dark chestnut-brown with darker markings.

British Dictionary definitions for piscivorous

piscivorous

/ (pɪˈsɪvərəs) /


adjective
  1. feeding on fish: piscivorous birds

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

Scientific definitions for piscivorous

piscivorous

[ pĭ-sĭvər-əs, pī- ]


  1. Habitually feeding on fish. Terns and cormorants are piscivorous birds.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.