Wiktionary

vulture

English

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Griffon vulture

Etymology

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Borrowed into Middle English from Anglo-Norman vultur, from Old French voutoir, voutre, from Latin vultur, voltur.

Pronunciation

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Noun

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vulture (plural vultures)

  1. Any of several carrion-eating birds of the families Accipitridae and Cathartidae.
    • 1912, Flight‎[1]:
      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.
    • 1982, Michael Bishop, No enemy but time:
      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 […]
  2. (figurative, colloquial) A person who profits from the suffering of others.
    Synonyms: ambulance chaser, vampire
    Within ten minutes of the accident, the vultures appeared and were organizing lawsuits.

Hyponyms

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Derived terms

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Translations

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Verb

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vulture (third-person singular simple present vultures, present participle vulturing, simple past and past participle vultured)

  1. (figurative, colloquial) To circle around one's _target as if one were a vulture.
    Rudy vultured when asking the girl out.

Adjective

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vulture

  1. (obsolete) ravenous; rapacious

Further reading

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Latin

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Noun

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vulture

  1. ablative singular of vultur
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  NODES
Note 1
Verify 3