coyote
Americannoun
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coyotes,
plural
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coyote
plural
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Also called prairie wolf. a buffy-gray, wolflike canid, Canis latrans, of North America, distinguished from the wolf by its relatively small size and its slender build, large ears, and narrow muzzle.
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Slang. a contemptible person, especially an avaricious or dishonest one.
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American Indian Legend. the coyote regarded as a culture hero and trickster by American Indian tribes of the West.
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Slang. a person who smuggles immigrants, especially Latin Americans, into the U.S. for a fee.
noun
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Also called: prairie wolf. a predatory canine mammal, Canis latrans, related to but smaller than the wolf, roaming the deserts and prairies of North America
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(in Native American legends of the West) a trickster and culture hero represented as a man or as an animal
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of coyote
1825–35; earlier cuiota, cayota < Mexican Spanish coyote < Nahuatl coyōtl
Explanation
A coyote is a wild dog that looks like a small wolf. Coyotes live in nearly every US state, and in most of Canada as well. A coyote is a canine, a relative of the domesticated dog and the wolf. Coyotes are distinctive, different from wolves, because of their relatively small size, delicate paws, and large ears. The word coyote is Mexican Spanish, from an Aztec root, cóyotl, or "trickster." The scientific name of the coyote is Canis latrans, "barking dog" in Latin. Another informal meaning of coyote, used mainly in the US southwest and Mexico, is a smuggler of illegal immigrants.
Vocabulary lists containing coyote
English Words Derived from Nahuatl
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Unit 1, Words to Know
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 8–October 14, 2022
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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.
See Examples For:
A coyote is bathed in red light; a cougar stalks near a grand piano; a man stands in a tropical jungle surrounded by mist; a pay phone off the hook dangles by its cord.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
After consuming food contaminated with coyote feces, they can become infected.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026
“Tonight, I feel a little like the coyote with no more roadrunner to chase.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026
Stunning biologists, a lone coyote swims to Alcatraz.
From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026
“We hit them with good coyote vibes at the festival,” I say, “and then go to the house and interview them.”
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
Recently in West Hollywood, a pack of coyotes began occupying an abandoned condominium construction site.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
The coyotes appear to have made themselves quite comfortable in their new home.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
Many then pay several thousand dollars to smugglers known as coyotes who take them on a grueling journey across the Brazilian border deep in the Amazon rainforest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
The parasite commonly infects coyotes, foxes, and other canids.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026
But coyotes are generally viewed as bad guys.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
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.
