noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of puma
1770–80; < Spanish < Quechua
Explanation
A puma is a type of big cat that looks a bit like a lion. In fact, another name for a puma is a mountain lion. Puma, cougar, panther, and mountain lion are different names for the same animal, the Puma concolor. While pumas are quite a bit larger than your family cat (weighing as much as 200 pounds), they are still considered members of the "small cat" species, which include bobcats, lynx, and ocelots, among many others. Pumas are found from northern Canada to South America, the largest range of any land animal in the Americas.
Vocabulary lists containing puma
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 puma named Muluk seemed sure that South Korea will triumph against the Czech Republic, and six giraffes hedged their bets with the Democratic Republic of Congo over Colombia.
From Barron's ● Jun. 6, 2026
Animal rights groups were also concerned that Neukgu would be killed during the capture process - something that happened to Porongi, a puma that had escaped from the same zoo in 2018.
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2026
At Monte Leon National Park, authorities continue to closely track both puma and penguin populations as they navigate the complex consequences of ecosystem recovery.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 8, 2026
The complaint included multiple time-stamped pictures of a puma on the property.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 20, 2024
But the Song of the Family had become as fierce and sharp and feline as the snarl of a female puma.
From "The Pearl" by John Steinbeck
Suraci and colleagues instead focused on the Olympic Peninsula, where mountain lions -- variously known as cougars, pumas or panthers -- have long been established.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
During that same period, researchers observed a decline in deer activity compared with earlier years when pumas were rarely seen or absent altogether.
From Science Daily ● Jun. 28, 2026
Despite cities’ trash, speeding cars, dogs, and humans, capybaras see plenty of upsides in urban riverside living: water, food, and shelter—plus no pumas, who have been known to eat young capybaras.
From Slate ● May 27, 2026
Mountain lions, also called pumas, cougars, catamounts or panthers, can be found throughout North America, but now are mostly in 15 western states, according to the Mountain Lion Foundation.
From BBC ● Jan. 2, 2026
A number of predators — wolves, pumas, and coyotes — prevented the deer from outrunning their food supply.
From "Silent Spring" by Rachel Carson
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.
