coyote

[kahy-oh-tee, kahy-oht]

noun

plural

coyotes ,

plural

coyote .

1. Also called prairie wolf. a buffy-gray, wolflike canid, Canis latrans, of North America, distinguished from the wolf by its relatively small size and its slender build, large ears, and narrow muzzle.

2. Slang.,  a contemptible person, especially an avaricious or dishonest one.

3. American Indian Legend.,  the coyote regarded as a culture hero and trickster by American Indian tribes of the West.

4. Slang.,  a person who smuggles immigrants, especially Latin Americans, into the U.S. for a fee.

coyote

/ kɔɪˈəʊt, ˈkɔɪəʊt, kɔɪˈəʊtɪ /

noun

1. Also called: prairie wolf. a predatory canine mammal, Canis latrans, related to but smaller than the wolf, roaming the deserts and prairies of North America

2. (in Native American legends of the West) a trickster and culture hero represented as a man or as an animal

Word History and Origins

Origin of coyote¹

1825–35; earlier cuiota, cayota < Mexican Spanish coyote < Nahuatl coyōtl

Word History and Origins

Origin of coyote¹

C19: from Mexican Spanish, from Nahuatl coyotl

Example Sentences

Construction is under way on some new homes, but streets remain unusually quiet at night, when coyotes come out to roam.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Judging by the amount of blood, he assumed a coyote had killed something.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

She said there was an incident in Stinson Beach where someone hand fed a coyote from a car, soon after, that same coyote was going up to people in cars expecting to be fed.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

She recalled how her mother bundled her and her siblings into a bus that took them to the border, where they hired a “coyote,” or human smuggler, to get the rest of the way.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A coyote seen swimming in the San Francisco Bay near Angel Island has prompted concern.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• mutt 
• pooch 
• pup