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Paiute

American  
[pahy-oot, pahy-oot] / paɪˈut, ˈpaɪ ut /
Or Piute

noun

Paiutes, plural Paiute plural
  1. a member of a group of North American Indians of the Uto-Aztecan family dwelling in California, Nevada, Utah, and Arizona.

  2. either of two mutually unintelligible Uto-Aztecan languages Northern Paiute and Southern Paiute.


Paiute British  
/ ˈpaɪˌuːt, paɪˈjuːt /

noun

  1. a member of either of two North American Indian peoples ( Northern Paiute and Southern Paiute ) of the Southwestern US, related to the Aztecs

  2. the language of either of these peoples, belonging to the Shoshonean subfamily of the Uto-Aztecan family

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

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:

For the Southern Paiute and Western Shoshone, Eagle Mountain holds profound cultural significance — woven into their creation stories and Salt Songs, understood as a “passage to the sky.”

From Los Angeles Times Feb. 5, 2026

Thomas River Watterson grows tomatoes, corn and squash at a vegetable garden that is part of the Bishop Paiute Tribe’s food program.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 18, 2025

The Utu Utu Gwaitu Paiute are among a coalition that wants to pause the planned roundups for two years and ultimately secure land back to set aside a sanctuary for the horses to roam.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 7, 2025

It also was approved this week by the San Juan Southern Paiute and Hopi tribes.

From Seattle Times May 24, 2024

Blythe notes that east of this population there were "no pure Paiute bands."

From Shoshone-Bannock Subsistence and Society by Murphy, Robert F.

I also spoke to a member of the Moapa Band of Paiutes, a neighboring tribe, who do not count Avi Kwa Ame as their origin site, but still recognize its deep cultural relevance.

From New York Times Jan. 24, 2023

In a city saturated with gambling, where even laundromats and grocery stores have slot machines, the Las Vegas Paiutes never saw the casino business as a viable economic driver.

From The Guardian Nov. 11, 2019

The Paiutes were like, "Well, hey. You know, we're here, but we know you don't mean us."

From Salon Sep. 8, 2019

Jacqueline Spute, administrative assistant at the Moapa Band of Paiutes reservation about 40 miles south of the quake’s epicenter, said the quake felt like “slow-motion rocking.”

From Washington Times May 23, 2015

The Chisera I have heard that the loveliest maiden of Sagharawite is called Bright Water, daughter of Rain Wind, Chief of the Paiutes.

From The Arrow-Maker A Drama in Three Acts by Austin, Mary Hunter

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