leopard
Americannoun
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a large, spotted Asian or African carnivore, Panthera pardus, of the cat family, usually tawny with black markings; the Old World panther: all leopard populations are threatened or endangered.
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the fur or pelt of this animal.
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any of various related cats resembling this animal.
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Heraldry. a lion represented from the side as walking, usually with one forepaw raised, and looking toward the spectator.
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Numismatics.
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an Anglo-Gallic gold coin issued by Edward III, equal to half a florin, bearing the figure of a leopard.
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a silver Anglo-Gallic coin issued by Henry V.
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Military. Leopard, a 42-ton (38-metric ton) West German tank with a 105 mm gun.
noun
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Also called: panther. a large feline mammal, Panthera pardus, of forests of Africa and Asia, usually having a tawny yellow coat with black rosette-like spots
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any of several similar felines, such as the snow leopard and cheetah
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a feline, Neofelis nebulosa, of SE Asia and Indonesia with a yellowish-brown coat marked with darker spots and blotches
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heraldry a stylized leopard, painted as a lion with the face turned towards the front
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the pelt of a leopard
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Etymology
Origin of leopard
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English leopard, labarde, lebarde, from Old French leopard, lebard, leupard, from Late Latin leōpardus, from Greek leópardos, syncopated variant of leontópardos, equivalent to leonto- (stem of léōn ) + párdos; see origin at lion, pard 1
Explanation
A leopard is a large feline, a very distant relative of the sweet kitty purring on your lap. A member of the panther family, the leopard is extinct in some regions and considered vulnerable in others. Leopards look similar to jaguars; they both have distinctive rose-shaped markings that act as camouflage, though leopards are slightly smaller and lighter. In rare cases when a leopard's melanin makes it appear totally black, it's called a black panther. The name of this large cat comes from an ancient belief that it was half lion and half panther — the Greek root leopardos means "lion-panther."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A German Leopard 2A4 battle tank sits in an outdoor space, supposedly retrieved from the Kursk battlefield in February 2025.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026
Tuesday, when a motorcycle deputy attempted a traffic stop as Bellish was riding an unregistered Arctic Leopard electric dirt bike, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
From Los Angeles Times • May 1, 2026
"Leopard cats benefited from living near people, while humans were largely unaffected or even welcomed them as natural rodent controllers," she said.
From BBC • Nov. 27, 2025
Renk supplies transmissions to platforms including the Leopard 2 main battle tank used by Germany and Ukraine, among other countries.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025
Outside, the Leopard and the Lion were growing impatient.
From "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" by William Kamkwamba
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
