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cheetah

American  
[chee-tuh] / ˈtʃi tə /

noun

  • cheetahs
    plural
  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 British  
/ 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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of cheetah

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


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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:

Evidence from nuclear paleogenomes and stable isotopes shows that the animal was not actually a cheetah.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 2026

New research led by scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is reshaping what is known about Miracinonyx trumani, the extinct North American predator commonly called the American cheetah.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 2026

Now the only cheetah left at the zoo, she feels responsible for impressing the humans who come to see her run.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026

"I want to show the world what Africa really is," Speed declared during his South Africa stop - where he went car-spinning, learned some amapiano dance moves and got scratched by a cheetah.

From BBC ● Jan. 17, 2026

Right betore halftime with the score — , Coby dribbles the ball past two of our defenders, speeds down the sidelines like a cheetah, then slants toward the middle.

From "Booked" by Kwame Alexander

Although their proportions resembled those of modern cheetahs, growing evidence suggests these cats were much more versatile hunters, able to chase prey on land while also using powerful forelimbs to grab and hold it.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 8, 2026

The cat haven has been operating for 28 years and houses 39 different cat species, including cheetahs, bobcats, clouded leopards, cougars and snow leopards.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026

“He’s pretty certain cheetahs are a type of cat,” he muses before meeting Chase.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 2026

Her big ambition is to travel to Kenya, to photograph cheetahs in the wild.

From BBC ● Dec. 30, 2025

She remembered how fast cheetahs could run and she knew how to solve for x in algebra problems and she could tell you the name of every single country in Africa.

From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

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