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tapir
noun
ta·pir
| \ ˈtā-pər also ˈtā-ˌpir or tə-ˈpir
\
\
plural tapirs
also tapir
Definition of tapir
: any of a genus (Tapirus) of herbivorous chiefly nocturnal perissodactyl mammals of tropical America and southeastern Asia from Myanmar to Sumatra that have a heavy sparsely hairy body and the snout and upper lip prolonged into a short flexible proboscis
Illustration of tapir
Examples of tapir in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Board a boat at Atalaya and cruise even deeper into the rainforest, on the lookout for monkeys, giant anteaters, tapirs, ocelots, armadillos, peccaries, caimans, and the numerous bird species that inhabit Manú National Park. — National Geographic, "Peru & the Amazon High School Expedition," 12 June 2019 Wild inhabitants include the resplendent quetzal, rare species of glass frogs, and elusive animals such as the Baird’s tapir. — National Geographic, "EXPLORE THE WORLD WITH NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC," 8 Apr. 2019 During a night tour of the world-famous Belize Zoo led by professional keepers, hand-feed the national animal of Belize, the tapir, and meet an orphaned jaguar known as Junior Buddy. — National Geographic, "Belize High School Expedition," 12 June 2019 Ride a longboat down the Tiputini River with an indigenous guide, who will help us spot turtles, tapirs, and caimans bobbing at the water’s surface. — National Geographic, "Ecuadorian Amazon and the Galápagos High School Expedition," 12 June 2019 The closest relatives to the Macrauchenia are the order order Perissodactyla, which includes zebras, rhinos, and tapirs. — David Grossman, Popular Mechanics, "It Will Take Millions of Years for Evolution to Replace What We Might Lose in the Next 50," 16 Oct. 2018 Don’s characteristic watermelon spots and stripes camouflage young tapirs in their forest habitat in Mexico, Central America and Colombia. — Bradley J. Fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "For the Fourth, bring out the (San Diego Zoo) babies!," 3 July 2018 Luna, a Baird’s tapir, had to wait 13 months for her new son to arrive on June 13. — Bradley J. Fikes, sandiegouniontribune.com, "For the Fourth, bring out the (San Diego Zoo) babies!," 3 July 2018 These types of tapirs, native to Mexico, Central America and northwestern South America, are listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. — Mary Forgione, latimes.com, "Cuteness alert! Where to find some of the newest zoo babies, from Scotland to Santa Barbara," 6 Apr. 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'tapir.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for tapir
tapir
noun
English Language Learners Definition of tapir
: an animal that is like a pig with a long nose and short legs and that lives in tropical America and Southeast Asia
See the full definition for tapir in the English Language Learners Dictionary
tapir
noun
ta·pir
| \ ˈtā-pər
\
\
Kids Definition of tapir
: a large hoofed plant-eating animal of tropical America and southeastern Asia that has short thick legs, a short tail, and a long flexible snout
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