hyena
Americannoun
-
hyenas
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of hyena
1350–1400; Middle English hiena < Medieval Latin hyēna, Latin hyaena < Greek hýaina, equivalent to hy- (stem of hŷs ) hog + -aina feminine suffix; replacing Middle English hyane, hyene < Middle French hiene < Latin
Compare meaning
How does hyena compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Hyenas, the most common carnivores in Africa, are medium-sized animals that resemble dogs but are more closely related to cats. Though they're famous for their creepy laugh, only one species of hyena makes a giggling noise. Spotted hyenas are the largest of the four distinct hyena species, and they're also the one variety that emits a laugh-like sound when they're being submissive to another animal. These tough carnivores have powerful jaws and teeth that allow them to eat nearly anything, including the bones of dead mammals. Hyena derives from a root word that means "pig," but they aren't related to pigs either — they have their own unique mammalian family, Hyaenidae.
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.
See Examples For:
The company also had to iron out the logistical kinks of night safaris, when visitors might spot a hyena or an elusive leopard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
He set up his camera trap after spotting fresh hyena tracks in the ghost town of Kolmanskop, Namibia.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2025
This is a musical that treasures goofy imperfection, a scene where McInnerny does a funny little tap dance, or the joy in Shannon’s hyena cackle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 6, 2024
While female-dominated hyena societies may not strike some as technically "queer," the same cannot be said of the countless male lions who spend most of their time in all-male groups called coalitions.
From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2024
Celia sat among the cheerleaders, like a hyena in front of a bloody haunch of meat.
From "Made You Up" by Francesca Zappia
In drought-hit northeastern Kenya, villagers have been forced to drag their dead livestock to distant fields for burning to keep the stench of death and scavenging hyenas away from their homes.
From Barron's ● Jan. 27, 2026
The subjects seem to know the meaning of boundaries, not only regarding the size of their competition or the dangers of lions, hyenas and other potential predators.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 13, 2026
Season 2 promotes Moore, still riding a career renaissance, from an underutilized background player to the woman charged with keeping the hyenas at bay.
From Salon ● Nov. 16, 2025
The couple also advertised other animals through social media including hyenas, desert lynxes and pumas.
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 2025
In five days the populations of orangutans, zebras, hyenas, rats, flies and cockroaches had been wiped out.
From "Life of Pi" by Yann Martel
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.
