Vulture
adj, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 Any of several carrion-eating birds of the families Accipitridae and Cathartidae.
"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."
- 2 any of various large diurnal birds of prey having naked heads and weak claws and feeding chiefly on carrion wordnet
- 3 A person who profits from the suffering of others. colloquial, figuratively
"Within ten minutes of the accident, the vultures appeared and were organizing lawsuits."
- 4 someone who attacks in search of booty wordnet
- 1 To circle around one's target as if one were a vulture. colloquial, figuratively
"Rudy vultured when asking the girl out."
- 1 ravenous; rapacious obsolete
"Whose vultur thought doth pitch the price so hie, That she will draw his lips rich treasure drie."
Example
More examples"It ain't called Vulture Valley for nothin', Bub!"
Etymology
Borrowed into Middle English from Anglo-Norman vultur, from Old French voutoir, voutre, from Latin vultur, voltur.
Related phrases
More for "vulture"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.