Relating to or denoting the pair of teeth in carnivores (typically the upper fourth premolar and lower first molar) that work together like shears to cut meat.
From French carnassière, from Old French carnage 'meat-eating,' ultimately from Latin carnis 'flesh.' The adjective describes these specialized cutting teeth.
Your dog's or cat's carnassial teeth are biological scissors—they can slice meat with incredible precision, and if you watch a big cat eating, you can see these teeth doing exactly what they evolved to do over millions of years.
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