: any of a genus (Trichechus of the family Trichechidae) of large, herbivorous, aquatic mammals that inhabit warm coastal and inland waters of the southeastern U.S., West Indies, northern South America, and West Africa and have a rounded body, a small head with a squarish snout, paddle-shaped flippers usually with vestigial nails, and a flattened, rounded tail used for propulsion
Note:
Manatees are sirenians related to and resembling the dugong but differing most notably in the shape of the tail.
An aquatic relative of the elephant, manatees grow up to nine feet long and can weigh 1,000 pounds.—Felicity Barringer
Illustration of manatee
Examples of manatee in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebHot tip: Get up early and grab an authentic Cuban coffee and a breakfast sandwich from nearby Cuban Coffee Queen — then walk the dock to look for manatees.—Miami Herald, 30 May 2024 Stubby has helped dozens of young manatees during her two decades at the zoo.—Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 11 May 2024 Stubby's efforts help the orphaned manatees learn how to survive independently.—Kelli Bender, Peoplemag, 11 May 2024 From Port Canaveral, which is nestled along Florida’s Space Coast, travelers can explore NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, hang out on the sand at Cocoa Beach, tour mangroves, keep an eye out for manatees and dolphins, and more.—Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 10 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for manatee
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'manatee.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Spanish manatí, probably of Carib origin; akin to Antillean Carib manattoüi manatee
: any of several chiefly tropical water-dwelling mammals that eat plants and differ from the related dugong especially in having the tail broad and rounded
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