Anasazi
Americannoun
plural
Anasazis,plural
Anasazi-
a Basket Maker-Pueblo culture of the plateau region of northern Arizona and New Mexico and of southern Utah and Colorado, dating probably from a.d. 100 to 1300.
-
a member of the people producing this culture.
adjective
Etymology
Origin of Anasazi
Term introduced in 1936 by U.S. archaeologist Alfred V. Kidder (1885-1963) < Navajo ʾanaasází ancient inhabitants of the Pueblo ruins, literally, aliens' ancestors (' anaa- enemy, alien + -sází ancestor(s), ancestral)
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.
Coerte Voorhees had tapped Kilmer, who died of pneumonia last year after years of battling throat cancer, for "As Deep as the Grave," about the pioneering archaeologist Ann Morris, a co-discoverer of the Anasazi civilization.
From Barron's • Mar. 18, 2026
These indicate that trading networks existed between Casas Grandes and the Anasazi to their north.
From Textbooks • Apr. 19, 2023
Rock formations turn trippy in the 40,000-acre Valley of Fire State Park, a wonderland of red Aztec sandstone with petrified logs and Anasazi petroglyphs.
From Washington Post • Jun. 10, 2022
Similarly, a 300-year drought ended the Anasazi civilization about 1,000 years ago in what is now Colorado and Utah.
From Salon • Aug. 5, 2021
Four Anasazi pots were carefully arranged on a rock nearby.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
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.
