What does "aardvark" mean?

The nocturnal, insectivorous, burrowing, mammal Orycteropus afer, of the order Tubulidentata, somewhat resembling a pig, common in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa.

What is a synonym for "aardvark"?

Common synonyms include: ant bear, anteater, african anteater, african anteater, animal, antbear.

Aardvark

//ˈɑːd.vɑːk// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1
The nocturnal, insectivorous, burrowing, mammal Orycteropus afer, of the order Tubulidentata, somewhat resembling a pig, common in some parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
"The aardvark burrows in the ground and feeds mostly on termites, which it catches with its long, slimy tongue."
2
nocturnal burrowing mammal of the grasslands of Africa that feeds on termites; sole extant representative of the order Tubulidentata wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms

ant bear anteater african anteater african anteater animal antbear

Example

More examples

"An adult aardvark can weigh up to 100 kilograms."

Etymology

Borrowed from Afrikaans aardvark (obsolete), erdvark, from aarde (“earth”, from Middle Dutch aerde) + vark (“pig”, from Middle Dutch varken). Early European colonists in South Africa noticed that the animal was similar to a pig, while aarde hints at the animal's habit of burrowing.

More for "aardvark"

Synonyms Sentences Pronunciation Translate

Next best steps

Find stronger synonyms See usage examples Check pronunciation Browse writing guides

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.