cayuse
noun
a horse, especially an Indian pony.
cayuse
1 American
[kahy-yoos, kahy-oos]
/ kaɪˈjus, ˈkaɪ us /
noun
-
Western U.S. a horse, especially an Indian pony.
-
Also called cayuse wind. Northwestern U.S. a cold wind blowing from the east.
Cayuse
2
American
[kahy-yoos, kahy-oos]
/ kaɪˈjus, ˈkaɪ us /
noun
-
Cayuses,
plural
-
Cayuse
plural
cayuse
British
/ ˈkaɪuːs /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cayuse
1830–40, named after the Cayuse
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 he did not get to Nevada on his cayuse.
From Time Magazine Archive
We were not under the necessity of being 'grub-staked' by anyone, or more ostentatiously on the hurricane deck of a cayuse.
From Time Magazine Archive
Billy’s own horse was a stringy cayuse with a hammer head, but he nearly always won first prize at the stock trials.
From "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck
The cayuse got out of hand—I couldn't hold him.
From Delilah of the Snows by Harold Bindloss
An' it's them two things that tell how much a cayuse is worth, down here in this country.
From Hopalong Cassidy by Clarence E. Mulford
Other plots involve bandits, guns and an Indigenous tribe, the Cayuse, about to sign a treaty and a rebel faction out to scotch it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 4, 2025
A variety of Indigenous cultures, including the Molalla, Kalapuya, Tenino, Wasco, Klamath, Northern Paiute and Cayuse, probably used the area for trading, hunting and the collection of plants.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 28, 2023
Depending on snow melt and road conditions, Chinook and Cayuse passes typically reopen in late May.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 27, 2022
Cayuse Pass is temporarily closed due to road and weather conditions.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 26, 2022
This, sir, is a fact which emanated from your own distorted imagination, as during the Cayuse war no priest was ever detected in any such a position, and you know it.’
From A History of Oregon, 1792-1849 Drawn From Personal Observation and Authentic Information by William Henry Gray
Was that company weaker at this time than they had been before, that they could not manage or conquer the Cayuses?
From A History of Oregon, 1792-1849 Drawn From Personal Observation and Authentic Information by William Henry Gray
We will return to Rev. Mr. Hines’ narrative of his trip among the Cayuses, May 22, 1843.
From A History of Oregon, 1792-1849 Drawn From Personal Observation and Authentic Information by William Henry Gray
Putting all these facts together, who is responsible for the massacre and the war with the Cayuses?
From A History of Oregon, 1792-1849 Drawn From Personal Observation and Authentic Information by William Henry Gray
Then, and not till then, did Multnomah turn his gaze on the malcontents, who stood, desperate but hesitating, hemmed in by the Willamettes and the Cayuses.
From The Bridge of the Gods A Romance of Indian Oregon. 19th Edition. by Frederic Homer Balch
Those in front shrank back from the iron warriors of Multnomah, those in the rear wavered before the fierce Cayuses.
From The Bridge of the Gods A Romance of Indian Oregon. 19th Edition. by Frederic Homer Balch
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.
