noun
mammal
MA-muhl
noun
1
A warm-blooded vertebrate animal with hair or fur that feeds its young with milk.
"Whales are mammals even though they live in the ocean."
"Humans, dogs, and elephants are all mammals."
How to Use Mammal
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishAny animal that has fur, is warm-blooded, and nurses its young with milk.
Memory tip
A good memory hook: "mammal" and "mammary gland" share the same Latin root, mamma, meaning breast.
Trace the full origin ↓Word Forms
mammals plural
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Whales are _____ even though they live in the ocean.
Etymology
From Modern Latin Mammalia, coined in 1758 by Linnaeus, from Latin mamma ("breast").