Illustration of meerkat
meerkat
noun
meer·kat ˈmir-ˌkat 
: any of several African mongooses
especially : a burrowing highly social primarily insectivorous mammal (Suricata suricatta) of southern Africa that is chiefly grayish with faint black markings and lives in usually large colonies
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web But recently he was asked to take over the role of Timon, the meerkat, for four months on a national tour. 
Ellen Mccarthy, Anchorage Daily News, 22 July 2022 Then her meerkat starts pooping, while the two hot meerkats look on, appalled. Ariel Levy, The New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2022 And the comic characters who were clearly the favorites of the younger members of the audience on Thursday, the meerkat Timon and warthog Pumbaa, were played with the appropriate broadness by Tony Freeman and John E. Brady. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Aug. 2022 But recently he was asked to take over the role of Timon, the meerkat, for four months on a national tour. Ellen Mccarthy, Anchorage Daily News, 22 July 2022 But recently he was asked to take over the role of Timon, the meerkat, for four months on a national tour. Ellen Mccarthy, Anchorage Daily News, 22 July 2022 But recently he was asked to take over the role of Timon, the meerkat, for four months on a national tour. Ellen Mccarthy, Anchorage Daily News, 22 July 2022 But recently he was asked to take over the role of Timon, the meerkat, for four months on a national tour. Ellen Mccarthy, Anchorage Daily News, 22 July 2022 But recently he was asked to take over the role of Timon, the meerkat, for four months on a national tour. Ellen Mccarthy, Washington Post, 21 July 2022 See More
Ellen Mccarthy, Anchorage Daily News, 22 July 2022 Then her meerkat starts pooping, while the two hot meerkats look on, appalled. Ariel Levy, The New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2022 And the comic characters who were clearly the favorites of the younger members of the audience on Thursday, the meerkat Timon and warthog Pumbaa, were played with the appropriate broadness by Tony Freeman and John E. Brady. Pam Kragen, San Diego Union-Tribune, 26 Aug. 2022 But recently he was asked to take over the role of Timon, the meerkat, for four months on a national tour. Ellen Mccarthy, Anchorage Daily News, 22 July 2022 But recently he was asked to take over the role of Timon, the meerkat, for four months on a national tour. Ellen Mccarthy, Anchorage Daily News, 22 July 2022 But recently he was asked to take over the role of Timon, the meerkat, for four months on a national tour. Ellen Mccarthy, Anchorage Daily News, 22 July 2022 But recently he was asked to take over the role of Timon, the meerkat, for four months on a national tour. Ellen Mccarthy, Anchorage Daily News, 22 July 2022 But recently he was asked to take over the role of Timon, the meerkat, for four months on a national tour. Ellen Mccarthy, Washington Post, 21 July 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Afrikaans, from Dutch, a kind of monkey, from Middle Dutch meercatte monkey, from meer sea + catte cat
First Known Use
1801, in the meaning defined above