Tra từ animal - Từ điển Oxford Advanced Learner 8th

ani·mal [animal animals] noun, adjective BrE [ˈænɪml] NAmE [ˈænɪml]
noun
1. a creature that is not a bird, a fish, a ↑reptile, an insect or a human
•the animals and birds of South America
•a small furry animal
• Fish oils are less saturated than animal fats.
•domestic animals such as dogs and cats
2. any living thing that is not a plant or a human
•the animal kingdom
• This product has not been tested on animals.
3. any living creature, including humans
• Humans are the only animals to have developed speech.
compare ↑vegetable
4. a person who behaves in a cruel or unpleasant way, or who is very dirty
• The person who did this is an animal, a brute.
5. a particular type of person, thing, organization, etc
•She's not a political animal.
•The government that followed the election was a very different animal.
see also ↑dumb animal, ↑higher animals

Word Origin:
Middle English: the noun from Latin animal, based on Latin animalis ‘having breath’ from anima, ‘breath’; the adjective via Old French from Latin animalis.

Culture:
animals
The British and Americans are famous for being animal lovers, and many families have at least one ↑pet. People from other countries often think British and American people are sentimental about animals, and say that they fuss over them and treat them better than human beings.
At weekends people in Britain often visit farm parks, safari parks (= parks where people can drive close to lions, zebras etc.), zoos, bird parks and sea life centres. In the US there are zoos and aquaria (= large tanks of fish), which are educational, and also amusement parks with animals, like Busch Gardens and Disney's Animal Kingdom.
Television programmes about animals are very popular. These range from factual programmes about wildlife to films starring fictional animals such as ↑Lassie and ↑Tom and Jerry. Children are given cuddly toy animals and picture books. Children’s literature has created many famous animal characters, such as ↑Black Beauty, ↑Brer Rabbit, Pooh, and Ratty, Mole and Toad in ↑Wind in the Willows. Many animals in books have their own distinctive character: lions are typically brave, foxes are cunning and cats are proud.
There are laws against cruelty to animals in Britain and the US. People give generously to animal charities such as the ↑RSPCA and the ↑ASPCA, and there are animal hospitals and rescue centres for injured and abandoned animals. Most are fairly modern, and many animals live in a large enclosure similar to their natural habitat, rather than in a cage. Often zoos keep only animals that cannot survive in the wild or were born in captivity. Some breed animals to put back into the wild and try to raise public awareness about the need for conservation.
Many people care about wild animals. People feed wild birds in the winter and some have a bird table in the garden. In the US the National Wildlife Federation (NWF) helps people to create their own ‘backyard wildlife habitat’.
There are often campaigns to save species that are endangered (= that may become extinct), such as wolves and buffalo in the US, and red squirrels and hedgehogs in Britain. In rural areas people generally have much less romantic ideas about animals. In Britain ↑hunting foxes with dogs arouses hostile feelings, especially among people living in towns, but the law to ban it, which came into effect in 2005, is seen by many people living in the country as an attack on their way of life.
In Britain and the US many people are concerned about animal rights, especially the use of animals in scientific research and public pressure has forced many cosmetics manufacturers to stop testing products on animals. Several groups, including the ↑Animal Liberation Front and PETA, strongly oppose vivisection (= the use of live animals in experiments) and animal rights activists organize protests at laboratories where animals are used. Sometimes people who work or invest in companies that own the laboratories are threatened.
Concern about farming methods in which animals are fattened as quickly as possible in artificial conditions causes many people to become vegetarians or to buy only meat that is from animals that have lived in good conditions.

Thesaurus:
animal noun C
•Strange animals inhabit the forest.
creature • • being • • living thing • |old-fashioned formal beast • |formal biology organism •
a living animal/creature/thing/being/organism
a wild animal/creature/thing/beast
a mythical creature/beast

Collocations:
The living world
Animals
animals mate/breed/reproduce/feed (on sth)
fish/amphibians swim/spawn (= lay eggs)
birds fly/migrate/nest/sing
insects crawl/fly/bite/sting
insects/bees/locusts swarm
bees collect/gather nectar/pollen
spiders spin/weave a web
snakes/lizards shed their skins
bears/hedgehogs/frogs hibernate
insect larvae grow/develop/pupate
an egg/a chick/a larva hatches
attract/find/choose a mate
produce/release eggs/sperm
lay/fertilize/incubate/hatch eggs
inhabit a forest/a reef/the coast
mark/enter/defend (a) territory
stalk/hunt/capture/catch/kill prey
Plants and fungi
trees/plants grow/bloom/blossom/flower
a seed germinates/sprouts
leaves/buds/roots/shoots appear/develop/form
flower buds swell/open
a fungus grows/spreads/colonizes sth
pollinate/fertilize a flower/plant
produce/release/spread/disperse pollen/seeds/spores
produce/bear fruit
develop/grow/form roots/shoots/leaves
provide/supply/absorb/extract/release nutrients
perform/increase/reduce photosynthesis
Bacteria and viruses
bacteria/microbes/viruses grow/spread/multiply
bacteria/microbes live/thrive in/on sth
bacteria/microbes/viruses evolve/colonize sth/cause disease
bacteria break sth down/convert sth (into sth)
a virus enters/invades sth/the body
a virus mutates/evolves/replicates (itself)
be infected with/contaminated with/exposed to a new strain of a virus/drug-resistant bacteria
contain/carry/harbour (especially US) harbor bacteria/a virus
kill/destroy/eliminate harmful/deadly bacteria

Example Bank:
•In court he was banned from keeping animals.
•Most cloned animals die at a premature age.
•She sleeps with lots of stuffed animals.
•The animals were fed only on pasture.
•This animal can be trained to follow simple orders.
•animals bred in captivity
•glass cases of stuffed animals
•pack animals such as mules
•protesting against animal experiments
•research with humans and non-human animals
•the export of live animals for slaughter
•the wonders of the animal kingdom
•Animal rights groups are staging a protest against the fur trade this Saturday.
•No animals were harmed in the making of this motion picture.
•These birds perform a ritual which is unique in the animal kingdom.

adjective only before noun
relating to the physical needs and basic feelings of people
•animal desires/passion/instincts
•animal magnetism (= a quality in sb that other people find attractive, usually in a sexual way)

Word Origin:
Middle English: the noun from Latin animal, based on Latin animalis ‘having breath’ from anima, ‘breath’; the adjective via Old French from Latin animalis.