surplus killing

noun

The behaviour of a predator that kills more prey than it can immediately eat and then caches or abandons the remainder.

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Meanings

nounsurplus killing (countable and uncountable, plural surplus killings)

plural surplus killings

  1. countableuncountableThe behaviour of a predator that kills more prey than it can immediately eat and then caches or abandons the remainder.

Origin

Coined by Dutch biologist Hans Kruuk.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

surplus killing. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/surplus%20killing

MLA

“surplus killing.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/surplus%20killing. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “surplus killing,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/surplus%20killing.

Source: surplus killing on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.