neotropical

adjective

neo·​trop·​i·​cal ˌnē-ō-ˈträ-pi-kəl How to pronounce neotropical (audio)
variants or less commonly neotropic
ˌnē-ō-ˈträ-pik How to pronounce neotropical (audio)
, often Neotropical
: of, relating to, or constituting the tropical New World biogeographic region that extends south, east, and west from the central plateau of Mexico

Examples of neotropical in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
By April, Neotropical migrants take center stage. — Jessica Safavimehr, Southern Living, 22 Feb. 2026 The fossil had a long tail and no bark-gnawing jaw, similar to Neotropical porcupines. — Discover Magazine, 30 Sep. 2024 Novel island species elucidate a species complex of Neotropical crocodiles. — Melissa Fleur Afshar, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 May 2025 On holiday in the southern Pantanal, Daniela was keen to see the neotropical river otters that live in the Aquidauana River. — Cecilia Rodriguez, Forbes.com, 4 Feb. 2026 See All Example Sentences for neotropical

Word History

Etymology

neo- + tropical

Note: Introduced, along with nearctic, ethiopian entry 2, and palearctic, by the British zoologist Philip Sclater (1829-1913) in "On the general Geographical Distribution of the Members of the Class Aves [read June 16th, 1857]," in Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society, Zoology, vol. 2 (1858), pp. 130-45.

First Known Use

1858, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of neotropical was in 1858

Rhymes for neotropical

See All Rhymes for neotropical

Browse Nearby Words

neotreme
neotropical
neotropics
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Neotropical.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/neotropical. Accessed 10 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
banana-mirrored
Contradictory Words Quiz Pick out which word means one thing…and the opp...
See All