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Glite Dictionary
saber-toothed

saber-toothed

6 7.8
An animal with long curved front teeth like a saber used for hunting
  • adjective
  • /ˈseɪbərˌtuːt/
  • US
translation icon : dientes de sable
  • There were plenty of big carnivores too: American lions, dire wolves, saber-toothed cats, and giant short-faced bears.
  • saber-toothed cat

So if there is a Saber toothed tiger attacking a group of people, who's going to jump up and defend against that tiger?

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Examples

  • Thirty-six species, including the mastodon, mammoth, and saber-toothed tiger, went extinct.

    Blog text (20)

  • So is a saber-toothed tiger.

    Sinbad the Sailor (1947)

  • At the same time, a number of large animal species, such as mammoths and saber-toothed tigers, became extinct.

    Academic text (2011)

  • Large-bodied species were particularly hard hit: mammoths and mastodons, American horses and camels, giant ground sloths, cave bears, and saber-toothed cats all went extinct.

    Academic text (2007)

  • The saber-toothed cat was one of the fiercest predators of its time, using its elongated teeth to hunt.

  • Many scientists study the fossils of saber-toothed animals to understand their behavior and environment.

  • In museum exhibits, the skulls of saber-toothed cats highlight their impressive, curved canine teeth.

Synonyms

fanged
vssaber-toothed
3 5.8

An animal or person with long sharp teeth for biting

refers specifically to long curved upper canines in certain extinct predators
laniary
vssaber-toothed
  • Specialized
9.9

Like a pointed tooth that grabs and tears food

is more specific to long curved upper canines of extinct predators

Surface Forms

saber-toothed positive
saber-toothed comparative
saber-toothed superlative

Morphology

saber-toothed = saber-tooth (transparent) = saber + tooth + ed

Formed by adding the adjectival suffix '-ed' to the noun 'saber-tooth', yielding 'having saber-like teeth', which is directly inferable.

Etymology

The word saber-toothed comes from saber, a curved 'sword', and tooth, meaning 'tooth', so it literally says 'having teeth like a sword'. That's why we use saber-toothed for extinct predators with very long, curved front teeth.