vulture
any of several large, primarily carrion-eating Old World birds of prey of the family Accipitridae, often having a naked head and less powerful feet than those of the related hawks and eagles.
any of several superficially similar New World birds of the family Cathartidae, as the turkey vulture.
a person or thing that preys, especially greedily or unscrupulously: That vulture would sell out his best friend.
Origin of vulture
1Other words from vulture
- vul·ture·like, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use vulture in a sentence
Hers is a dark response to his beautifully written coming out that invokes vultures in imagining the world he is entering.
Gay Activist David Mixner: I Mercy Killed 8 People | Tim Teeman | October 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTRepublicans are circling like vultures for any weakness that could legitimize a delay or reversal of the Affordable Care Act.
Obamacare’s Rollout Is a Disaster That Didn’t Have to Happen | Gregory Ferenstein | October 20, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTI asked, watching buzzards, white-backed vultures, and tawny eagles corkscrew skyward on thermals.
Walking With Wildebeests: Exploring the Serengeti on Foot | Joanna Eede | July 9, 2013 | THE DAILY BEASTAs it happened, however, the other vultures in the Elliot Gang had a good feed, too.
And vultures circle overhead, watching them all—and waiting.
Must-Read Fiction: ‘The Watch,’ ‘Alys, Always,’ ‘The Year of the Gadfly’ | Cameron Martin, Lucy Scholes, Amber Dermont | June 19, 2012 | THE DAILY BEAST
To be so humbled in the knowledge of any living being, was the vultures of Prometheus to the proud heart of Ripperda.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane PorterBut the retreat had been hurried and the vultures and the good Samaritans would have to look to the dead.
The Awakening and Selected Short Stories | Kate ChopinEagles, vultures, ravens, and wolves were devouring the dead bodies with which the earth was covered.
Superstition In All Ages (1732) | Jean MeslierDuring my absence, my neighbors would descend upon my domains like a flock of vultures.
The Pilgrim's Shell or Fergan the Quarryman | Eugne SueThe Saracen proverb is verified: "The Christians find here shelter only in the belly of the vultures, the jackals and the lions!"
The Pilgrim's Shell or Fergan the Quarryman | Eugne Sue
British Dictionary definitions for vulture
/ (ˈvʌltʃə) /
any of various very large diurnal birds of prey of the genera Neophron, Gyps, Gypaetus, etc, of Africa, Asia, and warm parts of Europe, typically having broad wings and soaring flight and feeding on carrion: family Accipitridae (hawks): See also griffon 1 (def. 2), lammergeier
any similar bird of the family Cathartidae of North, Central, and South America: See also condor, turkey buzzard
a person or thing that preys greedily and ruthlessly on others, esp the helpless
Origin of vulture
1Derived forms of vulture
- vulture-like, adjective
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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