ocelot

[ os-uh-lot, oh-suh- ]

/ ˈɒs əˌlɒt, ˈoʊ sə- /

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noun

a spotted leopardlike cat, Felis pardalis, ranging from Texas through South America: now greatly reduced in number and endangered in the U.S.

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Origin of ocelot

1765–75; <French, apparently arbitrary shortening of Nahuatl tlālōcēlōtl ocelot, equivalent to tlāl(li) earth, land + ōcēlōtl jaguar

OTHER WORDS FROM ocelot

oc·e·loid, adjective

Words nearby ocelot

ocellar, ocellated, ocellated turkey, ocellation, ocellus, ocelot, och, oche, ocher, ochlesis, ochlocracy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use ocelot in a sentence

They’ll add greater diversity to the ocelot population managed in North American zoos, while improving our understanding of possibilities for increasing genetic diversity within wild ocelot populations.
I Tried to Impregnate an Ocelot With Frozen Sperm From a Dead Cat|Ashley Reeves, The Conversation|November 23, 2021|The Daily Beast
Hockema said the site is a habitat for ocelots, an endangered species.
Engineers raise alarms over the risk of major explosions at LNG plants|Will Englund|June 3, 2021|Washington Post
The hounds, who well knew where the ocelot had gone to, were chasing it from tree to tree; but still it continued to elude them.
In the Wilds of Florida|W.H.G. Kingston
Now and then a wolf would approach, or a puma, or ocelot; but a shout would send them to the rightabout.
In the Wilds of Florida|W.H.G. Kingston

I soon reloaded and hurried after Trusty, who was barking round a small oak in which the ocelot had sought shelter.
The Backwoodsman|Various
The ocelot is found only in forest districts, and is an excellent climber, spending most of its life in the trees.
The Animal World, A Book of Natural History|Theodore Wood
The animal called the margay is really a kind of small ocelot, and it is sometimes known as the tiger-cat.
The Animal World, A Book of Natural History|Theodore Wood

British Dictionary definitions for ocelot

ocelot

/ (ˈɒsɪˌlɒt, ˈəʊ-) /

noun

a feline mammal, Felis pardalis, inhabiting the forests of Central and South America and having a dark-spotted buff-brown coat

Word Origin for ocelot

C18: via French from Nahuatl ocelotl jaguar

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

ocelot

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Origin of ocelot

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British Dictionary definitions for ocelot

Word Origin for ocelot