hunter-gatherer

noun

hunt·​er-gath·​er·​er ˈhən-tər-ˈga-t͟hər-ər How to pronounce hunter-gatherer (audio)
: a member of a culture in which food is obtained by hunting, fishing, and foraging rather than by agriculture or animal husbandry

Examples of hunter-gatherer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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The results revealed that a previously unknown population of hunter-gatherers had appeared in the Bogotá Altiplano by around 6,000 years ago, and had disappeared by around 2,000 years ago. Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 2 June 2025 Stone Age hunter-gatherers may have been particularly interested in sperm whale skeletons, because the creatures are the only toothed species of the group, featuring long, straight jaw bones—perfect for crafting hunting tools, the researchers write in the paper. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 28 May 2025 Modern Europeans descend from three main ancestral populations: hunter-gatherers who colonized the continent by around 40,000 years ago, early farmers from Anatolia who came into Europe about 8,500 years ago, and pastoralists from the Pontic-Caspian steppe who arrived around 5,000 years ago. Kermit Pattison, Scientific American, 20 May 2025 Per a project summary, the team discovered caves filled with paintings and traces of hunter-gatherer settlements. Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hunter-gatherer

Word History

First Known Use

1938, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of hunter-gatherer was in 1938

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Cite this Entry

“Hunter-gatherer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hunter-gatherer. Accessed 12 Jun. 2025.

Kids Definition

hunter-gatherer

noun
hunt·​er-gath·​er·​er
-ˈgat͟h-ər-ər,
-ˈget͟h-
: a member of a culture in which food is gotten by hunting, fishing, and gathering rather than by agriculture

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