jaguar
Americannoun
-
jaguars
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of jaguar
1595–1605; < Portuguese < Tupi jaguara
Compare meaning
How does jaguar compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
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.
See Examples For:
A notorious exotic animal dealer who sold a jaguar cub in Riverside was sentenced to six months’ probation Monday, federal prosecutors said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2025
There’s no fishing, but wildlife sightings are common, including a very large cat — a black jaguar? — at water’s edge in early October.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2024
"The jaguar and the caybara were so curious. They didn't run."
From BBC ● Oct. 11, 2024
The animals, he remarked, “were very tame,” which he attributed to “the jaguar having been banished for some years.”
From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2024
“It was my fault, Little Sister. I didn’t look after you properly. The jaguar never would have attacked you if I had watched over you as I was supposed to.”
From "The Ugly One" by Leanne Statland Ellis
BFA-related compounds in urine and renal lipid droplets were detected in several felid species, including lions, tigers, leopards, jaguars, lynxes, and the Iriomote cat.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026
“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
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.
