jaguar
Americannoun
-
jaguars
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of jaguar
1595–1605; < Portuguese < Tupi jaguara
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Explanation
One of your pet cat's many wild relatives is the jaguar, a large, spotted animal that's found in North, Central, and South America. The jaguar is so fast that a famously fancy car is named after it. The jaguar, third-largest of all the cats, looks like a bigger, stronger version of a leopard. They were once common in the western part of the United States, but have nearly been eradicated there and verge on being endangered worldwide. The word jaguar is Portuguese in origin, from the Tupi jaguara, which is a general term for any large, predatory animal.
Vocabulary lists containing jaguar
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.
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California’s latest victim of a deadly rattlesnake bite has emerged, and it’s not a human but a black jaguar living in a Central Valley sanctuary, underscoring the dangers of rattlesnake poisonings this year.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
The armor for this Batman took inspiration from Aztec eagle warriors and jaguar warriors, and integrated elements referencing the god Tzinacan.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025
The radio alerted Ian that a jaguar had been spotted prowling a tributary of the São Lourenço river.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2024
Lundberg and his diver companion had found fossils in the same place before, including mammoth teeth, bones of an ancient jaguar and parts of a dire wolf.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 6, 2024
Like the lion in Africa, the jaguar is the king of the South American jungle, and the American Museum of Natural History wanted one for its collection.
From "Death on the River of Doubt" by Samantha Seiple
“She was born under a full moon in the arms of mother nature. The jaguars taught her to run, the birds to fly,” her intro video intoned.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 13, 2026
With them go their predators, the jaguars, ocelots and—yes—anacondas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
This region shelters not only migratory songbirds but also jaguars, tapirs, and scarlet macaws.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 22, 2025
Birds sing among dense copses of mesquite trees; flowers hang heavily from bushes; ocelots and jaguars pass through.
From Slate ● May 26, 2025
Sleepiness and slothfulness keep it out of harm’s way, away from the notice of jaguars, ocelots, harpy eagles and anacondas.
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.
