cheetah

[chee-tuh]

noun

1. a cat, Acinonyx jubatus, of southwestern Asia and Africa, resembling a leopard but having certain doglike characteristics, often trained for hunting deer, antelope, etc.: an endangered species.

cheetah

/ ˈtʃiːtə /

noun

1. a large feline mammal, Acinonyx jubatus, of Africa and SW Asia: the swiftest mammal, having very long legs, nonretractile claws, and a black-spotted light-brown coat

Word History and Origins

Origin of cheetah¹

1695–1705; < Hindi cītā < Sanskrit citraka leopard; compare Pali cittaka, Prakrit cittaya

Word History and Origins

Origin of cheetah¹

C18: from Hindi cītā, from Sanskrit citrakāya tiger, from citra bright, speckled + kāya body

Example Sentences

Lala springs into action, lithe as a cheetah, and dashes to the bow of the ship.

Read more on Literature

The children found the cheetah statues amusing and busied themselves doing math problems with the spots.

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Similar cases involving cheetahs from Syria, a gorilla from Haiti, and bonobos from Iraq are among those questioned by CITES.

Read more on Barron's

Mr. Schaller describes the habits of cheetahs, lions and leopards across 1,500 square miles in Serengeti National Park.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A Kenyan family has told the BBC how a cheetah cub they adopted after finding it lying next to its dead mother became almost like one of their children.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• bobcat 
• caracal 
• cougar 
• jaguar 
• leopard 
• lion 
• lynx 
• mountain lion 
• ocelot 
• panther 
• puma 
• tiger 
• wildcat