Meanings
-
1
noun
an animal that has killed and eaten humans, especially a tiger, lion, crocodile, or shark
The villagers organized a hunt after the tiger became a man-eater.
-
2
noun
a person who eats human flesh
The explorer's sensational account described the islander as a man-eater.
Thesaurus
Etymology
A compound of man + eater, recorded for a person who eats human flesh and later widely applied to individual wild animals known to prey on people. The corresponding adjective is man-eating.