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

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Etymology

Origin of coyote

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

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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

A lot of the sports that you practice, whether that be hog hunting, coyote hunting, or just hunting, they’re associated with firearms.

From Slate ● Sep. 28, 2026

Mark Rulon, a wildlife activist and founder of Southern California Pit Bull Rescue, is personally offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to the conviction of anyone responsible for shooting the coyote known as “Wendy.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

It’s a one-track, single-minded way of thinking, eerily reminiscent of, oh, I don’t know, a hungry coyote blindly pursuing a roadrunner.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

A coyote is bathed in red light; a cougar stalks near a grand piano; a man stands in a tropical jungle surrounded by mist; a pay phone off the hook dangles by its cord.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

That’s my coyote on the path, burned paws and fur and all.

From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz

San Francisco is estimated to be home to around 100 coyotes, living alongside a large human population.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Rather than subject free-roaming outdoor cats to dangers like cars and coyotes, some opt for supervised harness and pram walking.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

“Most interestingly — and I find this kind of exciting actually — every night around 10 or 11, you start to hear this gang of coyotes howling,” resident Paul Manganello told KTLA.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026

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

Circling the tree was a pair of coyotes.

From "Pax" by Sara Pennypacker

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