Standard Lemma guide

digitigrade

adj · noun · 6 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: dĭʹjĭtĭgrād'
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈdɪdʒɪtɪˌɡɹeɪd/
  • General-American: /ˈdɪd͡ʒətəɡɹeɪd/
  • General-American: /-ɾə/

1

adj

Meaning 1

Of an animal: walking on the toes, putting the weight of the body mainly on the ball of the foot, with the back of the foot, or heel, raised.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Topics: biology, natural-sciences, zoology

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Of feet or a manner of walking: of, resembling, or pertaining to that of a digitigrade animal.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

Topics: biology, natural-sciences, zoology

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adj

Meaning 3

Belonging to the Digitigrada of the taxonomic order Carnivora.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable, obsolete, specifically

Topics: biology, natural-sciences, zoology

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A digitigrade animal; an animal that walks on its toes, such as a cat or a dog.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: in-plural

Topics: biology, natural-sciences, zoology

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

adjective

Meaning 5

(of mammals) walking on the toes with the posterior part of the foot raised (as cats, dogs, and horses do)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: plantigrade

6

noun

Meaning 6

an animal that walks so that only the toes touch the ground as e.g. dogs and cats and horses

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: digitigrade mammal

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: placental, placental mammal, eutherian, eutherian mammal

History

Etymology

From French digitigrade, from Latin digitus (“finger, toe, digit”) + -grade (“gait”); compare New Latin digitigradus.

Across languages

Translations

24 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: който ходи на пръстите си (kojto hodi na prǎstite si) — walking on the toes
  • French: digitigrade — walking on the toes
  • Hungarian: ujjonjáró — walking on the toes
  • Ido: digitigrada — walking on the toes
  • Indonesian: digitigrad — walking on the toes
  • Japanese: 趾行の (shikō no) — walking on the toes
  • Romanian: digitigrad — walking on the toes
  • Swedish: digitigrad — walking on the toes
  • Swedish: tågående — walking on the toes
  • Welsh: bysgerddol — walking on the toes
  • Czech: prstochodec — animal that walks on its toes
  • Dutch: teenganger — animal that walks on its toes
  • Finnish: varvasastuja — animal that walks on its toes
  • French: digitigrade — animal that walks on its toes
  • German: Zehengänger — animal that walks on its toes
  • Hungarian: ujjonjáró — animal that walks on its toes
  • Ido: digitigrado — animal that walks on its toes
  • Indonesian: digitigrad — animal that walks on its toes
  • Japanese: 趾行動物 (shikō dōbutsu) — animal that walks on its toes
  • Malay: pejalan jari — animal that walks on its toes
  • Malay: digitigrad — animal that walks on its toes
  • Romanian: digitigrad — animal that walks on its toes
  • Swedish: tågångare — animal that walks on its toes
  • Welsh: bysgerddwr — animal that walks on its toes