coypu
Americannoun
noun
-
an aquatic South American hystricomorph rodent, Myocastor coypus, introduced into Europe: family Capromyidae. It resembles a small beaver with a ratlike tail and is bred in captivity for its soft grey underfur
-
the fur of this animal
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of coypu
First recorded in 1785–95; from Latin American Spanish (Chile, Argentina) coipú, from Araucanian coipu
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:
While Luca Lorenz was photographing mute swans on an urban lake, a coypu photobombed his frame.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2025
In England and Wales, the coypu is one of 30 species of invasive non-native animal that are listed as of concern because of their invasiveness and ability to establish in several nations across Europe.
From BBC ● Oct. 28, 2022
Farms stock many captive-bred animals, from civets to raccoon dogs and coypu, a large rodent, often living close to livestock such as pigs, chickens and ducks.
From Nature ● May 17, 2020
They include greedy feral hogs, giant swamp rats called nutria or coypu, big aggressive Argentine lizards called tegus and swarms of hungry starlings that destroy the habitats of animals native to the United States.
From The Guardian ● Jun. 16, 2014
We turn to the rivers, and we see no musk-rat or beaver, but the coypu and capybara, slightly altered varieties of the original bizcacha ancestor.
From Charles Darwin by Allen, Grant
Chattering squirrels, charming coypus, and tail-slapping beavers -- along with some other rodents -- have orange-brown front teeth.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 17, 2024
The researchers collected incisors from rodents that live in different environments: beavers, coypus, squirrels, marmots, rats, voles and mice.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 17, 2024
Known formally as Myocastor coypus and commonly called the “menace of the marsh,” nutria are bad for ecosystems.
From Washington Post ● Dec. 26, 2022
The wild coypus in England are descendants of those first escapees.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
