vulture

noun

vul·​ture ˈvəl-chər How to pronounce vulture (audio)
1
: any of various large birds (families Accipitridae and Cathartidae) that are related to the hawks, eagles, and falcons but have weaker claws and the head usually naked and that subsist chiefly or entirely on carrion
2
: a rapacious or predatory person
vulturish adjective

Examples of vulture in a Sentence

As soon as they learned of his arrest, the media vultures started circling. noted that the paparazzi are vultures who could not exist without the connivance of the tabloid-buying public
Recent Examples on the Web While most birds have only weak senses of smell and find their food by sight, our common vulture can detect entirely invisible carcasses while flying by hundreds of feet in the air. Jack Gedney, The Mercury News, 11 Mar. 2024 Critics liken these investors to financial vultures depriving would-be homeowners of a shot at the American Dream while hoarding the profits of the last decade’s run-up in national home prices and rents. Calmatters, Orange County Register, 7 Mar. 2024 Shaking the stigma The first perception to dispel is the idea vultures are dirty animals. Gertrude Kitongo, CNN, 22 Feb. 2024 Police were also investigating the death of an endangered vulture, Pin, but police have not linked Irvin to that case, authorities said. Nicole Lopez, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 10 Feb. 2024 As the Borough Park commotion drew hordes of emergency responders, social media vultures went to work, misrepresenting the footage of ambulances, firefighters, and Hasidic Jewish bystanders to push propaganda about Chabad and Jewish people in general. Miles Klee, Rolling Stone, 2 Feb. 2024 Alone among vertebrates, vultures have taken scavenging professional. Natalie Angier, New York Times, 12 Nov. 2023 Jackals and vultures followed, then the hyenas, who would eventually scatter the bones. Honor Moore, Travel + Leisure, 12 Nov. 2023 There wasn’t any talk of bankruptcies or debt, of Wall Street vulture funds or PROMESA. Frances Solá-Santiago, Rolling Stone, 24 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vulture.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English vultur, from Anglo-French, from Latin

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of vulture was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near vulture

Cite this Entry

“Vulture.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vulture. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

vulture

noun
vul·​ture ˈvəl-chər How to pronounce vulture (audio)
1
: any of various large birds that feed mostly on animals found dead and that are related to the hawks and eagles but have weaker claws and the head usually naked
2
: a greedy or predatory person

More from Merriam-Webster on vulture

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