coyote

American  

[kahy-oh-tee, kahy-oht] / kaɪˈoʊ ti, ˈkaɪ oʊt /

noun

coyotes, plural coyote plural

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.

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coyote British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• coyote
  plural
• coyotes
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

coyote coyotes

Behind him, a baby coyote prances into the fog.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026

After consuming food contaminated with coyote feces, they can become infected.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026

“Tonight, I feel a little like the coyote with no more roadrunner to chase.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 23, 2026

Stunning biologists, a lone coyote swims to Alcatraz.

From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026

“The human has to improve his variety. A coyote can’t live on bird alone.”

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

Many then pay several thousand dollars to smugglers known as coyotes who take them on a grueling journey across the Brazilian border deep in the Amazon rainforest.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

The coyotes examined in this study carried the newer variant, which is now believed to be the dominant form circulating in both the United States and Canada.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026

"The fact that we found it here in one-third of our coyotes was surprising, because it wasn't found anywhere in the Pacific Northwest until earlier this year."

From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026

From their back window, they saw grazing cattle, roaming antelope and coyotes on the prowl.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026

Over the past few years, the police had caught four coyotes in Harlem and delivered them to the Bronx Zoo.

From "The Stars Beneath Our Feet" by David Barclay Moore

Related Words

• mutt
• pooch
• pup