Meanings
plural predators · alternative obsolete prædator
- Any animal or other organism that hunts and kills other nonplant organisms (their prey), primarily for food.
So if you're the only thing worth eating in the middle of the ocean, the predator that grabs you will probably have gotten there by a Levy walk.
2023, Robert M. Sapolsky, Determined: A Science of Life Without Free Will, New York: Penguin, →ISBN1 more example
Hives should be positioned, oriented and protected to avoid predators and ensure survival in the meliponary. A study (pers. obs.) of predators shows that the main culprits in a Malaysian meliponary are frogs and lizards.
2018 October 15, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, The pollination of cultivated plants: A compendium for practitioners: Volume 2, Food & Agriculture Org., →ISBN, page 73 - informalslangA sexual predator.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSomeone who attacks and plunders for gain.
More synonyms by meaning
nounsomeone who attacks in search of booty
nounany animal that lives by preying on other animals
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinpraedātor
- Englishpredator
Borrowed from Latin praedātor, from praedor (“loot, pillage”), from praeda (“booty, spoils, prey”).
More words from Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Afrikaans roofdier
- roofdieranimal or organism that hunts
Arabic مُفْتَرِس, ضَارٍ
- مُفْتَرِس (muftaris)animal or organism that hunts
- ضَارٍ (ḍārin)animal or organism that hunts
Bulgarian хи́щник
- хи́щник (híštnik)animal or organism that hunts
Catalan predador, depredador
- predadoranimal or organism that hunts
- depredadoranimal or organism that hunts
- depredadorsomeone who attacks and plunders
Chinese Mandarin 掠食者, 天敵 /天敌
- 掠食者 (lüèshízhě)animal or organism that hunts
- 天敵 /天敌 (tiāndí)animal or organism that hunts
- 掠奪者 /掠夺者 (lüèduózhě)someone who attacks and plunders
Czech dravec
- dravecanimal or organism that hunts
Danish rovdyr
- rovdyranimal or organism that hunts
Dutch roofdier n roofvis, predator
- roofdier n roofvisanimal or organism that hunts
- predatoranimal or organism that hunts
Esperanto kaperanto
- kaperantoanimal or organism that hunts
Estonian kiskja
- kiskjaanimal or organism that hunts
Finnish saalistaja, peto
- saalistajaanimal or organism that hunts
- petoanimal or organism that hunts
French prédateur
- prédateuranimal or organism that hunts
German Raubtier, Raubfisch
- Raubtieranimal or organism that hunts
- Raubfischanimal or organism that hunts
- Beutegreiferanimal or organism that hunts
- Prädatoranimal or organism that hunts
Greek αρπακτικό, αρπακτικό
- αρπακτικό (arpaktikó)animal or organism that hunts
- αρπακτικό (arpaktikó)someone who attacks and plunders
- άρπαγας (árpagas)someone who attacks and plunders
Hebrew טוֹרֵף
- טוֹרֵף (toréf)animal or organism that hunts
Hindi दरिंदा
- दरिंदा (darindā)animal or organism that hunts
Hungarian ragadozó, ragadozó
- ragadozóanimal or organism that hunts
- ragadozósomeone who attacks and plunders
Icelandic rándýr
- rándýranimal or organism that hunts
Indonesian pemangsa
- pemangsaanimal or organism that hunts
Irish creachadóir
- creachadóiranimal or organism that hunts
Italian predatore, predatore
- predatoreanimal or organism that hunts
- predatoresomeone who attacks and plunders
- predonesomeone who attacks and plunders
Japanese 天敵
- 天敵 (tenteki)animal or organism that hunts
Korean 천적
- 천적 (cheonjeok)animal or organism that hunts
Latin praedātor, praedātor
- praedātoranimal or organism that hunts
- praedātorsomeone who attacks and plunders
Latvian plēsonis
- plēsonisanimal or organism that hunts
Lithuanian plėšrūnas
- plėšrūnasanimal or organism that hunts
Malay pemangsa
- pemangsaanimal or organism that hunts
Māori kaikonihi, konihi
- kaikonihianimal or organism that hunts
- konihisomeone who attacks and plunders
Norwegian Bokmål rovdyr
- rovdyranimal or organism that hunts
Polish drapieżnik
- drapieżnikanimal or organism that hunts
Portuguese predador, predador
- predadoranimal or organism that hunts
- predadorsomeone who attacks and plunders
Romanian prădător
- prădătoranimal or organism that hunts
Russian хи́щник, хи́щник
- хи́щник (xíščnik)animal or organism that hunts
- хи́щник (xíščnik)someone who attacks and plunders
Slovak dravec
- dravecanimal or organism that hunts
Spanish predador, depredador
- predadoranimal or organism that hunts
- depredadoranimal or organism that hunts
- depredadorsomeone who attacks and plunders
Swedish rovdjur, predator
- rovdjuranimal or organism that hunts
- predatoranimal or organism that hunts
Thai นักล่า, ผู้ล่า
- นักล่า (nák-lâa)animal or organism that hunts
- ผู้ล่า (pûu-lâa)animal or organism that hunts
Turkish yırtıcı
- yırtıcıanimal or organism that hunts
Ukrainian хижа́к, хижа́к
- хижа́к (xyžák)animal or organism that hunts
- хижа́к (xyžák)someone who attacks and plunders
Urdu دَرِنْدَہ
- دَرِنْدَہ (darinda)animal or organism that hunts
Vietnamese động vật ăn thịt
- động vật ăn thịtanimal or organism that hunts
Welsh rheibiwr, ysglyfaethwr
- rheibiwranimal or organism that hunts
- ysglyfaethwranimal or organism that hunts
Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
predator. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/predator
“predator.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/predator. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “predator,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/predator.
Source: predator on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.