jaguar

[jag-wahr, -yoo-ahr, jag-yoo-er]

noun

1. a large spotted feline, Panthera onca, of tropical America, having a tawny coat with black rosettes: now greatly reduced in number and endangered in some areas.

jaguar

/ ˈdʒæɡjʊə /

noun

1. a large feline mammal, Panthera onca, of S North America, Central America, and N South America, similar to the leopard but with a shorter tail and larger spots on its coat

Word History and Origins

Origin of jaguar¹

1595–1605; < Portuguese < Tupi jaguara

Word History and Origins

Origin of jaguar¹

C17: from Portuguese, from Tupi jaguara, Guarani yaguara

Example Sentences

For decades these animals – lions, tigers, pumas, cheetahs and jaguars – have been a sign of power, status and even political fealty in the country.

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She sold the weeks-old jaguar cub, which she called Amador, to a Murrieta man who then sold him again before the cub was dumped at a San Diego wild animal sanctuary.

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A man and woman were charged in 2022 after purchasing a jaguar cub and transporting it from Texas to California for commercial activity.

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Rico, who lives with Tina, a female two-toed sloth, in the zoo's jaguar house, has been regularly monitored since the surgery.

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Nearby wetlands include a protected habitat for jaguars.

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Related Words

• bobcat 
• caracal 
• cheetah 
• cougar 
• leopard 
• lion 
• lynx 
• mountain lion 
• ocelot 
• panther 
• puma 
• tiger 
• wildcat