raptor
noun
rap·tor ˈrap-tər 
-ˌtȯr
1
: a carnivorous medium- to large-sized bird (such as a hawk, eagle, owl, or vulture) that has a hooked beak and large sharp talons and that feeds wholly or chiefly on meat taken by hunting or on carrion : bird of prey
2
: a usually small-to-medium-sized predatory dinosaur (such as a velociraptor or deinonychus)
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The Panama Audubon Society has been conducting raptor counts since 2004. 
Jennifer Billock, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Sep. 2022 Length: 6 miles round trip (to the raptor nest tree and back). Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 15 Sep. 2022 That’s where peregrine falcons like to nest (check for seasonal raptor closures). Kristin Smith, Outside Online, 31 Aug. 2022 With the bullpen phone not operating and gesturing from the dugout, Counsell stretched out his arms in what can be interpreted as a raptor gesture to confirm Suter was his guy. Jr Radcliffe, USA TODAY, 30 Aug. 2022 The zoo plans to keep some of those old enclosures for historical purposes but also add new habitats to the area, including a raptor habitat highlighting the Steller’s sea eagle. Christine Condon, Washington Post, 29 Aug. 2022 With the bullpen phone not operating and gesturing from the dugout, Counsell stretched out his arms in what was initially interpreted as a raptor gesture to confirm Suter was his guy. Jr Radcliffe, Journal Sentinel, 29 Aug. 2022 The unexpected guest -- a 19-year-old raptor named Clark -- was captured by a fellow traveler going through airport security on Monday at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 25 Aug. 2022 But one caused by a raptor in 2015 burned 10,000 acres in Idaho. Carolyn Wilke, New York Times, 29 June 2022 See More
Jennifer Billock, Smithsonian Magazine, 16 Sep. 2022 Length: 6 miles round trip (to the raptor nest tree and back). Mare Czinar, The Arizona Republic, 15 Sep. 2022 That’s where peregrine falcons like to nest (check for seasonal raptor closures). Kristin Smith, Outside Online, 31 Aug. 2022 With the bullpen phone not operating and gesturing from the dugout, Counsell stretched out his arms in what can be interpreted as a raptor gesture to confirm Suter was his guy. Jr Radcliffe, USA TODAY, 30 Aug. 2022 The zoo plans to keep some of those old enclosures for historical purposes but also add new habitats to the area, including a raptor habitat highlighting the Steller’s sea eagle. Christine Condon, Washington Post, 29 Aug. 2022 With the bullpen phone not operating and gesturing from the dugout, Counsell stretched out his arms in what was initially interpreted as a raptor gesture to confirm Suter was his guy. Jr Radcliffe, Journal Sentinel, 29 Aug. 2022 The unexpected guest -- a 19-year-old raptor named Clark -- was captured by a fellow traveler going through airport security on Monday at the Charlotte Douglas International Airport. Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 25 Aug. 2022 But one caused by a raptor in 2015 burned 10,000 acres in Idaho. Carolyn Wilke, New York Times, 29 June 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
(sense 1) after New Latin Raptores, former order name, going back to Latin, plural of raptor "plunderer, robber, a beast or bird of prey," from rapere "to seize and carry off, take away by force" + -tor, agent suffix; (sense 2) borrowed from New Latin -raptor (as in velociraptor) — more at rapid entry 1
First Known Use
1873, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Kids Definition
raptor
noun
rap·tor ˈrap-tər
: bird of prey
- hovering stress
- hoverplane
- hoverports
- hovers
- hovers (over)
- hovers over
- hovertrains
- hovhaness
- Hovhaness (Chakmakjian)
- hovhaness chakmakjian
- Hovis
- how
- how about
- how about it
- how about you
- how are you keeping
- how can
- how can/could
- how come
- how could
- how dare
- how dare (someone)
- how dare someone
- how do
- how do you do