Cheyenne

American  

[shahy-en, -an] / ʃaɪˈɛn, -ˈæn /

noun

plural

Cheyennes,

plural

Cheyenne

1. a member of a North American Indian people of the western plains, formerly in central Minnesota and North and South Dakota, and now divided between Montana and Oklahoma.

2. an Algonquian language, the language of the Cheyenne Indians.

3. a city in and the capital of Wyoming, in the S part.

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Cheyenne ¹ British  

/ ʃaɪˈæn /

noun

1. a member of a Native American people of the western Plains, now living chiefly in Montana and Oklahoma

2. the language of this people, belonging to the Algonquian family

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Cheyenne ² British  

/ -ˈɛn, ʃaɪˈæn /

noun

1. a city in SE Wyoming, capital of the state. Pop: 54 374 (2003 est)

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Etymology

Origin of Cheyenne

via Canadian French from Dakota Shaiyena, from shaia to speak incoherently, from sha red + ya to speak

Example Sentences

Adding to the diverse mix were hired hands from tribes such as the Comanche, Cheyenne and Apache, who became unrivaled horse whisperers long before settlers arrived on their lands.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026

In fact, on a midnight shift in Cheyenne Mountain, I even read Tom Clancy’s “Red Storm Rising,” which envisioned the Cold War gone hot, a Third World War gone nuclear.

From Salon • Dec. 7, 2025

Cheyenne hunters supplied buffalo robes to trading companies.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 30, 2025

"When the tariff announcements hit, customers got strategic with how they were going to weather the storm," Santé Brand's founder Cheyenne Ware told the BBC.

From BBC • Aug. 2, 2025

Crazy Horse talked with a Cheyenne warrior leader.

From "In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse" by Joseph Marshall III