gray wolf

American  

noun

1. a wolf, Canis lupus, having a usually grizzled, blackish, or whitish coat: formerly common in Eurasia and North America, some subspecies are now reduced in numbers or near extinction.

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Etymology

Origin of gray wolf

An Americanism dating back to 1805–15

Compare meaning

How does gray-wolf compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• timber wolf vs. gray wolf

Example Sentences

To investigate these questions, Bailey is analyzing gray wolf teeth from museum collections and recently deceased animals using stable-isotope techniques.

From Science Daily • Jan. 30, 2026

Conservationists were thrilled when the gray wolf returned to California after the apex predators were hunted to near extinction a century ago.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 25, 2025

The discovery of a dire wolf mummy could help settle the uncertainty—Ice Age gray wolf pups have been found before, so it’s a possibility—but such a fossil has not been uncovered yet.

From Slate • Apr. 10, 2025

Zaccardi stopped the car, looked to her left and saw it: A large, majestic gray wolf, staring at her from the top of a nearby hill.

From Salon • Mar. 1, 2024

It lodged in the flank of a gray wolf scarcely twenty feet away.

From "Huntress" by Malinda Lo