1
: a carnivorous medium- to large-sized bird (such as a hawk, eagle, owl, or vulture) that has a hooked beak and large sharp talons and that feeds wholly or chiefly on meat taken by hunting or on carrion : bird of prey
2
: a usually small-to-medium-sized predatory dinosaur (such as a velociraptor or deinonychus)
Examples of raptor in a Sentence
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The raptor, along with other select dinosaurs, may have evolved to be warm-blooded 180 million years ago, according to research published in the journal Current Biology on May 15, 2024.
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CBS News, 15 May 2024
Many of the specimens seem ripe for producing new discoveries: Two unique dinosaur fossils, thought to be small raptors, were previously unstudied in scientific literature, and two pterosaur skulls are expected to represent new species.
—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for raptor 
CBS News, 15 May 2024
Many of the specimens seem ripe for producing new discoveries: Two unique dinosaur fossils, thought to be small raptors, were previously unstudied in scientific literature, and two pterosaur skulls are expected to represent new species.
—Christian Thorsberg, Smithsonian Magazine, 13 May 2024
See all Example Sentences for raptor
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Cite this Entry
“Raptor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/raptor. Accessed 29 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
raptor
noun
rap·tor
ˈrap-tər 
Etymology
Latin raptor "plunderer," from rapere "to seize"
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