jaguar
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of jaguar
1595–1605; < Portuguese < Tupi jaguara
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Explanation
One of your pet cat's many wild relatives is the jaguar, a large, spotted animal that's found in North, Central, and South America. The jaguar is so fast that a famously fancy car is named after it. The jaguar, third-largest of all the cats, looks like a bigger, stronger version of a leopard. They were once common in the western part of the United States, but have nearly been eradicated there and verge on being endangered worldwide. The word jaguar is Portuguese in origin, from the Tupi jaguara, which is a general term for any large, predatory animal.
Vocabulary lists containing jaguar
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.
Jaguar Land Rover, like other automakers, suffered last year when the United States slapped tariffs on imports, which led the automaker to halt delivery of vehicles to the country in April.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
Jaguar Land Rover "faced a challenging year with revenue and profit impacted by multiple headwinds, including a pause in production following the cyber incident," chief executive PB Balaji said in a statement.
From Barron's • May 14, 2026
Up to 300 DHL logistics workers based at Jaguar Land Rover have voted to begin an indefinite strike in a dispute over pay, the Unite union has confirmed.
From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026
The firm explained this was down to the impact of US tariffs, market challenges in China and the planned wind-down of legacy Jaguar models.
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026
A gleaming jet-black top-of-the-line Jaguar coupe performed a tread-melting illegal U-turn, much to the horror of the cab coming head-on.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
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.
