cougar

American  

[koo-ger] / ˈku gər /

noun

plural

cougars,

plural

cougar

1. Also called mountain lion, panther, puma.  a large, tawny cat, Felis concolor, of North and South America: now greatly reduced in number and endangered in some areas.

2. Informal. an older woman who seeks sexual relationships with much younger men.

   He's in his twenties, but he prefers cougars in their forties and fifties to young women his own age.

---

cougar British  

/ ˈkuːɡə /

noun

1. another name for puma

2. slang a woman in her 30s or 40s who actively pursues casual sexual relationships with young men

---

Etymology

Origin of cougar

First recorded in 1765–75; from French couguar, from New Latin cuguacu ara, cuguacuarana, apparently a misrepresentation of either Guarani guaçu ara or Portuguese çuçuarana, suçuarana (from Tupi susuarana )

Explanation

A cougar is a type of large cat — male cougars can reach eight feet long. You may have seen a cougar in a nature program about the animals of North and South America. A cougar is a feline, but these cats are not tame house pets — they are dangerous wild animals. Found all the way from Canada to South America, cougars are also called pumas, mountain lions, panthers, and catamounts. The word cougar is also a slang term for an older woman who dates much younger men. Even when it is meant to be a compliment, like any stereotype, cougar has the potential to offend — best to avoid.

Example Sentences

The research comes as wolf and cougar territories increasingly overlap across the western United States.

From Science Daily • Mar. 3, 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

Stage 2, the final phase, will connect the structure to the hills at the north and south so that wildlife, like L.A.’s famous, ill-fated cougar, P-22, can use it.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2025

“This cougar is either looking for food or for a way out,” Cabrera-Miller said.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 24, 2024

The lab report came back that it was indeed the scat of Felis concolor, the eastern mountain lion, also variously and respectfully known as the panther, cougar, puma, and, especially in New England, catamount.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson

Related Words

• mountain lion
• panther