cheetah
Americannoun
-
cheetahs
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cheetah
1695–1705; < Hindi cītā < Sanskrit citraka leopard; compare Pali cittaka, Prakrit cittaya
Compare meaning
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.
See Examples For:
“Home” is a concept that Chase, a newly orphaned cheetah cub, struggles to make sense of.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 20, 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
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
King Ogunwe drew his coat around him and rested his hand on his cheetah dæmon’s head.
From "The Amber Spyglass" by Philip Pullman
Similar cases involving cheetahs from Syria, a gorilla from Haiti, and bonobos from Iraq are among those questioned by CITES.
From Barron's ● Nov. 9, 2025
Mr. Schaller describes the habits of cheetahs, lions and leopards across 1,500 square miles in Serengeti National Park.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2025
For decades these animals – lions, tigers, pumas, cheetahs and jaguars – have been a sign of power, status and even political fealty in the country.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2025
For years, it seemed most people considered the animals unappealing and preferred seeing “real” predators like lions or cheetahs.
From National Geographic ● Feb. 8, 2024
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
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.
