cheetah
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of cheetah
1695–1705; < Hindi cītā < Sanskrit citraka leopard; compare Pali cittaka, Prakrit cittaya
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How does cheetah compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
Some residents of Banham Zoo, near Attleborough, including penguins, a vulture, a cheetah, a tiger and a sloth, were scanned using the equipment, which produces detailed images of bones, organs and soft tissue.
From BBC • Apr. 21, 2026
When Basma, the zoo’s lead cheetah trainer, decides that Chase and Finn would make an excellent pair, Finn is skeptical.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 20, 2026
To better understand how evolution shaped these sounds, the researchers compared domestic cat meows with those of five wild cat species: African wildcat, European wildcat, jungle cat, cheetah, and cougar.
From Science Daily • Feb. 11, 2026
His similarity to the film’s villain, Mr. Potter — a wealthy, nasty slumlord who names everything he takes control of after himself — was easier to point out than spots on a cheetah.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 23, 2025
Like the fact that a cheetah can run seventy miles per hour.
From "Crenshaw" by Katherine Applegate
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.
