agouti
Americannoun
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agoutis,
plural
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agouties
plural
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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.
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an irregularly barred pattern of the fur of certain rodents.
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an animal having fur of this pattern.
noun
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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
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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 agouti “turns out to have one of the best olfactory repertoires of any mammal, for totally unknown reasons,” Dr. Karlsson said.
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
The golden agouti, like the rhinoceros, was in need of companionship.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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
He kept on ahead, then, lost in thought, followed by Tartlet, who by his shouts and gestures, kept together the flock of sheep, agouties, goats, and poultry.
From Godfrey Morgan A Californian Mystery 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
Evidently, cocks and hens, and sheep, goats and agouties, driven by instinct, had resolved to go with them.
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 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
In the meantime, Hirsch believes we should remember agoutis.
From Scientific American ● Jul. 16, 2012
And since it does not contain G the appearance of agoutis among its offspring must be attributed to the presence of G in the albino.
From Mendelism Third Edition by Reginald Crundall Punnett
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.
