agouti
Americannoun
-
agoutis,
plural
-
agouties
plural
-
any of several short-haired, short-eared, rabbitlike rodents of the genus Dasyprocta, of South and Central America and the West Indies, destructive to sugarcane.
-
an irregularly barred pattern of the fur of certain rodents.
-
an animal having fur of this pattern.
noun
-
any hystricomorph rodent of the genus Dasyprocta, of Central and South America and the Caribbean: family Dasyproctidae. Agoutis are agile and long-legged, with hooflike claws, and are valued for their meat
-
a pattern of fur in certain rodents, characterized by irregular stripes
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of agouti
First recorded in 1725–35; from French, from Spanish agutí, from Tupian agutí, agoutí, acutí
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.
See Examples For:
The nine-banded armadillo and Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth followed, while the Central American agouti came in fourth.
From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2023
One key souvenir from that mating: a jackrabbit version of agouti, the gene that normally revs up its activity and turns snowshoe fur white in the winter, the researchers report today in Science.
From Science Magazine ● Jun. 21, 2018
Some mammals have far fewer neurons—a hamster’s brain, for example, has just 90 million; and some have much more—the agouti, a kind of rodent, has 857 million by her count.
From Slate ● Mar. 1, 2018
Clair says the red-rumped agouti, like all the zoo’s animals, is under veterinary care and is properly vaccinated.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 22, 2018
Our golden agouti and spotted paca got along very well, contentedly huddling together and sleeping against each other until the first was stolen.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
Game of all sorts in consequence abounded at the Chimneys, capybaras, pigeons, agouties, grouse, etc.
From The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne
Notwithstanding the bad weather, the settlers renewed their stores of different things, stone-pine almonds, rhizomes, syrup from the maple-tree, for the vegetable part; rabbits from the warren, agouties, and kangaroos for the animal part.
From The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne
How he envied the poultry, the agouties, and the sheep, who cheerfully quenched their thirst without the addition of such saccharine or alcoholic mixtures to their water from the stream!
From Godfrey Morgan A Californian Mystery by Jules Verne
Frequently there had to be sacrificed some of the sheep or goats or agouties, whose numbers had but slightly increased since their arrival in the island.
From Godfrey Morgan A Californian Mystery by Jules Verne
There were a dozen agouties, five or six sheep, and as many goats, who were quietly browsing on the first vegetation on the very edge of the prairie.
From Godfrey Morgan A Californian Mystery by Jules Verne
There are lots of parrots, lizards, hummingbirds and agoutis to enjoy too.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 16, 2018
Monkeys, agoutis, armadillos and sloths dove from the forest into the water.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 6, 2018
Deer, agoutis, magpie-jays, wasps, and monkeys frequent the bowls of water in front of their hut.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 30, 2015
The thieving rodents would steal and cache repeatedly, carrying the prized seed ever farther from its original location to evade other interested agoutis.
From Scientific American ● Jul. 16, 2012
There were deep, black pools in the unbroken shade; stealthy deer, tapirs, peccaries, and agoutis moved like shadows among the columnar trunks.
From The Black Phantom by Leo E. (Leo Edward) Miller
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions 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.
