mammal
n. countablen. a type of animal that feeds its babies with milk from its own body. These animals usually have hair or fur and are warm-blooded.
n. any warm-blooded vertebrate of the class Mammalia, characterized by the possession of hair or fur, the secretion of milk by females for nourishing the young, and typically the birth of live offspring.
A whale is a mammal that lives in the ocean.
While most animals lay eggs, almost every mammal gives birth to live young and cares for them during infancy.
The platypus is a unique mammal because it lays eggs yet still possesses mammary glands to provide milk for its hatchlings.
From Modern Latin Mammalia, coined 1758 by Linnaeus for the class of mammals, from neuter plural of Late Latin mammalis (“of the breast”), from Latin mamma (“breast”), perhaps cognate with mamma (mother).
Commonly used in biological classifications; the plural form refers to the entire group or specific species.