A large sabre-toothed cat of the Pleistocene epoch.
Smilodon fatalis of North America and Smilodon populator of South America
See sabretooth
Example sentencesExamples
To eat meat, the smilodon had sharp and pointed teeth, which is unlike the caribous’ blunt and rounded teeth. What a pity, the smilodons died out, we can't see them anymore.
The smilodon species are also known as Saber-Toothed Cats (which is inaccurate because there are other, unrelated saber-toothed ‘cats’) or Saber-Toothed Tigers (which is inaccurate, as they were not tigers)…
Origin
Modern Latin, from Greek smilē 'smile' + odous, odont- 'tooth'.