panda

1. (now rare without a qualifying word) The red panda (Ailurus fulgens), a small raccoon-like animal of northeast Asia with reddish fur and a long, ringed tail.Examples: "The red panda's history in zoos begins some 40 years after its discovery. The first one to be seen outside of its natural range arrived at London Zoo on 22nd May 1869, [...] On arrival at the zoo, the last surviving panda was given into the care of Abraham Bartlett, the superintendent of the zoo. [...] The feeding instructions that came with the panda said it should be given milk, a little rice and grass each day. [...] Bartlett felt that the suggested diet was not adequate and set out to find what the animal would accept; [...] Unfortunately, although it ate well, this first zoo red panda was not destined for a long life, it died suddenly during the night of 12 December 1869, a little over 6 months after its arrival."Synonyms: bear cat, cat bear, lesser panda, waharchaic

2. (colloquial, also attributively) Ellipsis of giant panda (“Ailuropoda melanoleuca”).Synonyms: mottled bear, panda bearabbreviationalsoalt-ofattributivecolloquialellipsis

3. (British, law enforcement, colloquial) Ellipsis of panda car (“a black-and-white police car”).Examples: "Before the confrontation, the youth sighted a police personnel carrier, two dog patrol vans, a motorway style car, at least two pandas and one unmarked police car."Britishabbreviationalt-ofcolloquialellipsis