omnivorous
adjective
om·niv·o·rous
| \ äm-ˈniv-rəs
, -ˈni-və-\
, -ˈni-və-\
Definition of omnivorous
1
: feeding on both animal and vegetable substances
omnivorous animals
2
: avidly taking in everything as if devouring or consuming
an omnivorous reader omnivorous curiosity
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Examples of omnivorous in a Sentence
She is an omnivorous reader.
a child with omnivorous curiosity
Recent Examples on the Web
Their diets are omnivorous but consist mostly of plant material, pond weed and algae, along with tadpoles, small fish, worms, snails and insects. — Ernie Cowan, San Diego Union-Tribune, "Water-loving coots are longtime familiar sights," 15 Aug. 2019 These traits are consistent with living animals that crunch on hard foods or eat a varied diet, which suggests that Scolomastax may well have been omnivorous. — Michael Greshko, National Geographic, "Fossils of oddball crocodile relative found in Texas suburb," 10 June 2019 Folds’s post-Five life has been a musically omnivorous one. — Allison Stewart, Washington Post, "Rock-musician memoirs have a distancing effect, but Ben Folds is as relatable as ever," 31 July 2019 For millions of years, many species of vegetarian and omnivorous crocs roamed the earth, but why pro-plant crocs died out while their carnivore cousins stood the test of time remains a mystery. — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "Prehistoric Crocodiles Preferred Plants Over Prey," 28 June 2019 As The New York Times observed shortly after Buttigieg posted his haul, his fundraising success owes something to his omnivorous approach. — Alex Shephard, The New Republic, "What Does Big Tech Want From Buttigieg?," 9 July 2019 Coyotes are omnivorous, with much of their diet consisting of insects (grasshoppers are a big item), fruits, other plant material. — Shannon Tompkins, ExpressNews.com, "Meet the coyote, one of nature’s great tricksters," 13 June 2019 The omnivorous tegu lizards have been known to eat alligator and bird eggs. — Chris Ciaccia, Fox News, "Massive, voracious lizards are invading the southwestern US," 6 Aug. 2018 Earwigs are actually omnivorous, and primarily feed on decaying organic matter as well as those pest insects. — The Editors, Good Housekeeping, "How to Control Earwigs in Your Garden and Keep Them From Getting in Your House," 27 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'omnivorous.' 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 omnivorous
omnivorous
adjective
English Language Learners Definition of omnivorous
: eating both plants and animals
: eager to learn about many different things
See the full definition for omnivorous in the English Language Learners Dictionary
omnivorous
adjective
om·niv·o·rous
| \ äm-ˈni-və-rəs
\
\
Kids Definition of omnivorous
: feeding on plants and animals
omnivorous
adjective
om·niv·o·rous
| \ äm-ˈniv-(ə-)rəs
\
\
Medical Definition of omnivorous
: eating both animal and plant matter
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