||Car`pin*te"ro (kär`p&esl;n*t&asl;"r&osl;), n. [Sp., a carpenter, a woodpecker.] A california woodpecker (Melanerpes formicivorus), noted for its habit of inserting acorns in holes which it drills in trees. The acorns become infested by insect larvæ, which, when grown, are extracted for food by the bird.