Vulture Meaning
/ˈvʌltʃə/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAny of several carrion-eating birds of the families Accipitridae and Cathartidae.
nounA person who profits from the suffering of others.
Sentence Examples
It ain't called Vulture Valley for nothin', Bub!
The eagle is a raptor, like the falcon and vulture.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the lion killed the zebra, a ____ circled overhead waiting to eat the remains.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A ____ was seen circling high in the sky, looking for any sign of food on the dry desert floor today.
Word Origin & History
Borrowed into Middle English from Anglo-Norman vultur, from Old French voutoir, voutre, from Latin vultur, voltur. Displaced native Old English ūf.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The outer third of the wing of a vulture consists of the wing tips. The inner two-thirds of the wing are cambered (when the wing is extended), and are concerned with lifting effort in unsoarable air and with lifting and tractive effort in soarable air."
— 1912, Flight:
"In clusters on the plain, like cowlless monks at matins, sat the vultures that had settled on the corpse of the hyena impaled by the female rhino […]"
— 1982, Michael Bishop, No enemy but time:
"Whose vultur thought doth pitch the price so hie,
That she will draw his lips rich treasure drie."
— 1593, [William Shakespeare], Venus and Adonis, London: […] Richard Field, […], →OCLC:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
After the lion killed the zebra, a ____ circled overhead waiting to eat the remains.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
A ____ was seen circling high in the sky, looking for any sign of food on the dry desert floor today.