agouti
Americannoun
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agoutis,
plural
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agouties
plural
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any of several short-haired, short-eared, rabbitlike rodents of the genus Dasyprocta, of South and Central America and the West Indies, destructive to sugarcane.
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an irregularly barred pattern of the fur of certain rodents.
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an animal having fur of this pattern.
noun
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any hystricomorph rodent of the genus Dasyprocta, of Central and South America and the Caribbean: family Dasyproctidae. Agoutis are agile and long-legged, with hooflike claws, and are valued for their meat
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a pattern of fur in certain rodents, characterized by irregular stripes
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of agouti
First recorded in 1725–35; from French, from Spanish agutí, from Tupian agutí, agoutí, acutí
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:
But even the best-sniffing rodent, the Central American agouti, had fewer olfactory genes than three other species.
From Scientific American ● Apr. 27, 2023
The agouti “turns out to have one of the best olfactory repertoires of any mammal, for totally unknown reasons,” Dr. Karlsson said.
From New York Times ● Apr. 27, 2023
Having eaten an agouti, say, the cat will deposit the seeds that are sitting in the agouti’s stomach much farther away than the seeds would have gone on rodent power alone.
From Slate ● Apr. 10, 2020
One key souvenir from that mating: a jackrabbit version of agouti, the gene that normally revs up its activity and turns snowshoe fur white in the winter, the researchers report today in Science.
From Science Magazine ● Jun. 21, 2018
Nonetheless, our golden agouti vanished, stolen by someone who ate it, Father suspected.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
How he envied the poultry, the agouties, and the sheep, who cheerfully quenched their thirst without the addition of such saccharine or alcoholic mixtures to their water from the stream!
From Godfrey Morgan A Californian Mystery by Jules Verne
Frequently there had to be sacrificed some of the sheep or goats or agouties, whose numbers had but slightly increased since their arrival in the island.
From Godfrey Morgan A Californian Mystery by Jules Verne
He kept on ahead, then, lost in thought, followed by Tartlet, who by his shouts and gestures, kept together the flock of sheep, agouties, goats, and poultry.
From Godfrey Morgan A Californian Mystery by Jules Verne
Evidently, cocks and hens, and sheep, goats and agouties, driven by instinct, had resolved to go with them.
From Godfrey Morgan A Californian Mystery by Jules Verne
A thought flashed across the mind of Godfrey, and it was correct: it was that these hens, agouties, goats, and sheep had belonged to the Dream.
From Godfrey Morgan A Californian Mystery by Jules Verne
There are lots of parrots, lizards, hummingbirds and agoutis to enjoy too.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 16, 2018
Monkeys, agoutis, armadillos and sloths dove from the forest into the water.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 6, 2018
Deer, agoutis, magpie-jays, wasps, and monkeys frequent the bowls of water in front of their hut.
From The New Yorker ● Mar. 30, 2015
In the meantime, Hirsch believes we should remember agoutis.
From Scientific American ● Jul. 16, 2012
Armed with a stick, he had chased the agoutis; for want of agoutis, he had eaten rats.
From The Solitary of Juan Fernandez, or the Real Robinson Crusoe by Joseph Xavier Saintine
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