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)
Examples of raptor in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Day-trippers can swirl a glass of peppery Carménère at a Spanish-colonial Maipo Valley winery, soak in milky-green hot springs at Colina Valley, or hike to the Condor Lookout to photograph the largest raptors on earth.
—
Mark Johanson, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 May 2026
Two bald eagles hatchlings have been spotted in a nest in a Chicago park in what city officials believe is the raptors' first successful wild breeding in the Windy City in more than a century.
—ABC News, 13 May 2026
The raptor program is one of several wildlife monitoring programs conducted by the conservancy and its biologists, who team up with other institutions, such as UC Irvine and UC Davis, to study the area’s wildlife and ecosystem.
—Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 8 May 2026
After her brush with celebrity, Mager traveled the country in a van with her raptor companions, giving educational talks to community groups and school children, according to Audubon magazine which profiled her in 2019.
—Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 May 2026
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Mark Johanson, Condé Nast Traveler, 15 May 2026
Two bald eagles hatchlings have been spotted in a nest in a Chicago park in what city officials believe is the raptors' first successful wild breeding in the Windy City in more than a century.
—ABC News, 13 May 2026
The raptor program is one of several wildlife monitoring programs conducted by the conservancy and its biologists, who team up with other institutions, such as UC Irvine and UC Davis, to study the area’s wildlife and ecosystem.
—Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 8 May 2026
After her brush with celebrity, Mager traveled the country in a van with her raptor companions, giving educational talks to community groups and school children, according to Audubon magazine which profiled her in 2019.
—Stephen Hudak, The Orlando Sentinel, 4 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for raptor
Cite this Entry
“Raptor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/raptor. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
raptor
noun
rap·tor
ˈrap-tər 
Etymology
Latin raptor "plunderer," from rapere "to seize"
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