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cheetah

American  
[chee-tuh] / ˈtʃi tə /

noun

  1. a cat, Acinonyx jubatus, of southwestern Asia and Africa, resembling a leopard but having certain doglike characteristics, often trained for hunting deer, antelope, etc.: an endangered species.

cheetah British  
/ ˈtʃiːtə /

noun

  1. a large feline mammal, Acinonyx jubatus, of Africa and SW Asia: the swiftest mammal, having very long legs, nonretractile claws, and a black-spotted light-brown coat

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of cheetah

1695–1705; < Hindi cītā < Sanskrit citraka leopard; compare Pali cittaka, Prakrit cittaya

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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.

Fu Sheng, chief executive of Cheetah Mobile, relentlessly shared how he "raised his lobster" on social media - a phrase users adopted to describe training the assistant for their requirements.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026

Sheng Fu, chief executive of Beijing-based Cheetah Mobile, thinks the overall trend will endure, as users increasingly view autonomous agents like “digital employees.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 10, 2026

Hill -- whose blistering speed earned him the nickname "Cheetah" -- scored 27 touchdowns in 54 games for Miami and amassed 340 receptions for 4,733 yards.

From Barron's • Feb. 17, 2026

She also broke through the Disney sphere, appearing in the popular 2006 sequel of “The Cheetah Girls 2” as Marisol, a Spanish pop star and competitor of the titular girl band.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 5, 2025

Once, when a vicious dog tried to attack, Cheetah hurled herself in front of me and rose to her hind feet.

From "The Queen of Water" by Laura Resau

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.