predator

«predator» in Mova's school dictionary: an animal that hunts and eats other animals — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a predator, predators)

meaning for a pupil

1) A predator is an animal that hunts and eats other animals. tree →

2) The animals a predator eats are called its prey. tree →

3) A predator can also mean a dangerous person who tries to harm others, especially children. tree →

sense in the lessons

In science lessons about food chains and food webs, predators such as lions, wolves, owls, sharks and spiders eat prey such as zebras, rabbits, mice and fish. Predators often have sharp teeth or claws, good eyesight and speed; prey animals use camouflage and running to escape. In online safety, adults warn about people who pretend to be friends. Phrases: top predator, apex predator, predator and prey.

examples

• The lion is a predator that hunts zebras. tree →
• An owl is a predator of mice. tree →
• Sharks are top predators in the ocean. tree →
• Rabbits watch out for predators like foxes. tree →
• In the food chain, the predator eats the prey. tree →
• A ladybird is a predator of tiny greenflies. tree →
• Camouflage helps animals hide from predators. tree →
• Tell a trusted adult if anyone online makes you feel unsafe. tree →

note

Countable: a predator, predators. Opposite word in food chains: prey. Adjective: predatory. An animal can be both: a frog is a predator of flies and prey for a snake. Cats are predators too, even pet ones.

In the corpora

• A coyote can run at about 65 km per hour, and coyotes are among the real predators of roadrunners.
• Predators and prey sometimes drink near each other, and zebras watch lions closely but run only if the lions come towards them.
• Real predators hunt to eat, not out of anger or meanness, and many fail more hunts than they win.
• The black caiman is the biggest predator of the Amazon, over four metres long, and hunts fish and capybaras at night.
• Stink bugs release bad-smelling chemicals when disturbed, and smells work well as defences because predators learn quickly.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «predator» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.