coyote
Americannoun
plural
coyotes,plural
coyote-
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.
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Slang. a contemptible person, especially an avaricious or dishonest one.
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American Indian Legend. the coyote regarded as a culture hero and trickster by American Indian tribes of the West.
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Slang. a person who smuggles immigrants, especially Latin Americans, into the U.S. for a fee.
noun
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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
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(in Native American legends of the West) a trickster and culture hero represented as a man or as an animal
Etymology
Origin of coyote
1825–35; earlier cuiota, cayota < Mexican Spanish coyote < Nahuatl coyōtl
Explanation
A coyote is a wild dog that looks like a small wolf. Coyotes live in nearly every US state, and in most of Canada as well. A coyote is a canine, a relative of the domesticated dog and the wolf. Coyotes are distinctive, different from wolves, because of their relatively small size, delicate paws, and large ears. The word coyote is Mexican Spanish, from an Aztec root, cóyotl, or "trickster." The scientific name of the coyote is Canis latrans, "barking dog" in Latin. Another informal meaning of coyote, used mainly in the US southwest and Mexico, is a smuggler of illegal immigrants.
Vocabulary lists containing coyote
English Words Derived from Nahuatl
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Unit 1, Words to Know
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for October 8–October 14, 2022
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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.
The agency recorded one human fatality from a coyote in 1981 and another fatality from a black bear in 2023.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 20, 2026
That same day, two more coyote attacks were reported to Fish and Wildlife and are being investigated, according to the release.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
The agency believes the coyote responsible for the Tuesday and Feb. 11 attacks could also be responsible for one of the other attacks.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 3, 2026
A lonely coyote stalks the barren ground around oil pump jacks; a dead deer, its eye milky white, lies on a fern-like blanket of boughs.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 27, 2026
“Now, back to our coyote campaign. The video is not enough.”
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
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.
