I. ˈvəlchə(r) noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English, from Latin vultur; probably akin to Latin vellere to pull, pluck — more at vulnerable
1. : any of various large raptorial birds of temperate and tropical regions that are related to the hawks, eagles, and falcons but have weaker claws and the head usually naked, that subsist chiefly or entirely on carrion, and that constitute the families Aegypiidae and Cathartidae and include some of the largest birds of flight — see black vulture , condor , egyptian vulture , king vulture , lammergeier , turkey buzzard
2. : someone or something likened to a vulture: as
a. : an emotion or passion that preys on the mind or body
b. : a rapacious or predatory person or one pursuing vile or base objects
shyster lawyers, crooked photographers and assorted vultures circling a big cash settlement — Time
a vulture of an old woman who preyed on her lodgers and boarders
II. transitive verb
( vultured ; vultured ; vulturing -ch(ə)riŋ ; vultures )
: to make prey or loot of : snatch , swipe
had vultured the library's reference and guidebooks — Newsweek