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:
A window fell out of the hyena enclosure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 2, 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
Of course, it was not long before the elephant and the hyena heard what was being said about them.
From "The Girl Who Married a Lion: and Other Tales from Africa" by Alexander Mccall Smith
It follows four rival families of lions, leopards, hyenas and wild dogs as they compete for dominance, with all the shifting alliances, betrayals and power struggles of a prestige drama.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
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 reaction was unsurprising as the Somali-speaking nomadic community earn their living by raising livestock, which are often threatened by predators such as cheetahs, leopards, lions, and hyenas.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2025
Other coprolites contained bones chewed up by predators that, like today's hyenas, crushed bones to obtain salts and marrow.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 27, 2024
He sat in the shade of a tree and thought about things that hyenas like to think about, which are not things that you and I would understand.
From "The Girl Who Married a Lion: and Other Tales from Africa" by Alexander Mccall Smith
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.
