noun · 4 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
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Received-Pronunciation:/ɪnˈsɛktəˌvɔː/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
General-American:/ɪnˈsɛktəˌvɔɹ/
1
noun
Meaning 1
Insect-eating animal or plant.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Examples
An anteater is an insectivore with a long sticky tongue to catch its prey.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
mammal of the now abandoned order Insectivora.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: dated
Topics: biology, natural-sciences, zoology
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: insectivoran
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
any organism that feeds mainly on insects
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
From French insectivore. In the zoological sense, coined by English philosopher and historian of science William Whewell in 1840 as an adaptation of Cuvier's coinage, French insectivore. The French terms reflect scientific New Latin origins. By surface analysis, insect + -i- + -vore.
Across languages
Translations
40 source translations are retained for this English entry.
Breton:
amprevanataer
— insect-eating animal or plant
Catalan:
insectívor
— insect-eating animal or plant
Czech:
hmyzožravec
— insect-eating animal or plant
Danish:
insektæder
— insect-eating animal or plant
Dutch:
insectivoor
— insect-eating animal or plant
Dutch:
insecteneter
— insect-eating animal or plant
Esperanto:
insektomanĝulo
— insect-eating animal or plant
Esperanto:
insektovorulo
— insect-eating animal or plant
Finnish:
hyönteissyöjä
— insect-eating animal or plant
French:
insectivore
— insect-eating animal or plant
Galician:
insectívoro
— insect-eating animal or plant
German:
Insektenfresser
— insect-eating animal or plant
German:
insektenfressende Pflanze
— insect-eating animal or plant
German:
insekten fressende Pflanze
— insect-eating animal or plant
German:
Insektivore
— insect-eating animal or plant
Greek:
εντομοφάγος
(entomofágos)
— insect-eating animal or plant
Hindi:
कीटभक्षी
(kīṭbhakṣī)
— insect-eating animal or plant
Ingrian:
sikiäissööjä
— insect-eating animal or plant
Irish:
feithiditeoir
— insect-eating animal or plant
Italian:
insettivoro
— insect-eating animal or plant
Japanese:
食虫動物
(shokuchū dōbutsu)
— insect-eating animal or plant
Khmer:
បាណកសត្តាសី
(bar nak kak sat ta sei)
— insect-eating animal or plant
Korean:
식충동물
(sikchungdongmul)
— insect-eating animal or plant
Norwegian Bokmål:
insekteter
— insect-eating animal or plant
Norwegian Nynorsk:
insektetar
— insect-eating animal or plant
Polish:
owadożerca
— insect-eating animal or plant
Portuguese:
insectívoro
— insect-eating animal or plant
Portuguese:
insetívoro
— insect-eating animal or plant
Russian:
насекомоя́дный
(nasekomojádnyj)
— insect-eating animal or plant
Serbo-Croatian:
кукцождер
— insect-eating animal or plant
Serbo-Croatian:
кукцоједац
— insect-eating animal or plant
Serbo-Croatian:
кукцојед
— insect-eating animal or plant
Serbo-Croatian:
kukcožder
— insect-eating animal or plant
Serbo-Croatian:
kukcojedac
— insect-eating animal or plant
Serbo-Croatian:
kukcojed
— insect-eating animal or plant
Spanish:
insectívoro
— insect-eating animal or plant
Swedish:
insektsätare
— insect-eating animal or plant
