vampire bat

noun

any of various tropical American bats of the family Desmodontidae that bite mammals and birds to feed on their blood

• Syn: ↑true vampire bat

• Hypernyms: ↑carnivorous bat, ↑microbat

• Hyponyms: ↑Desmodus rotundus, ↑hairy-legged vampire bat, ↑Diphylla ecaudata

• Member Holonyms: ↑Desmodontidae, ↑family Desmodontidae

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noun

see vampire 3

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1. any of several New World tropical bats of the genera Desmodus, Diphylla, and Diaemus, the size of a small mouse, feeding on small amounts of blood obtained from resting mammals and birds by means of a shallow cut made with specialized incisor teeth.

2. any of several large South American bats of the genera Phyllostomus and Vampyrus, erroneously believed to feed on blood.

3. See false vampire.

[1780-90]

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vampire bat noun

1. A bloodsucking Central and S American bat (eg Desmodus or Diphylla)

2. Applied to various bats wrongly supposed to be bloodsuckers (eg Vampyrus)

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Main Entry: ↑vampire

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vampire bat,

1. any one of several groups of bats of South and Central America that pierce the skin of animals with their sharp teeth and drink the blood as it flows.

2. any one of several large bats of South and Central America, incorrectly supposed to drink blood.

3. a) any one of a group of large, tailless bats of tropical Asia, Africa, and Australia. b) = false vampire. (Cf. ↑false vampire)

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noun, pl ⋯ bats [count]

: a bat from Central and South America that sucks the blood of people and animals

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ˈvampire bat [vampire bat] noun

a S American ↑bat (= an animal like a mouse with wings) that sucks the blood of other animals