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Pawnee

American  
[paw-nee] / pɔˈni /

noun

  • Pawnees,
    plural
  • Pawnee
    plural
  1. a member of a confederacy of North American Plains Indians of Caddoan stock formerly located along the Platte River valley, Nebraska, and now living in northern Oklahoma.

  2. the Caddoan language of the Pawnee Indians.


Pawnee British  
/ pɔːˈniː /

noun

  1. a member of a confederacy of related North American Indian peoples, formerly living in Nebraska and Kansas, now chiefly in Oklahoma

  2. the language of these peoples, belonging to the Caddoan 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:

Chief Hotate often met Leslie Knope, deputy director of the Parks and Recreation department for the fictional city of Pawnee, to discuss use of the land.

From BBC Jun. 3, 2025

In one of my all-time favorite Parks and Recreation episodes, Leslie Knope excitedly tells the camera that the city of Pawnee will finally get fluoride in their water thanks to a merger with neighboring Eagleton.

From Slate Sep. 29, 2024

“A story by itself makes it easy for somebody to say this was just one person’s experience,” said Ms. Echo-Hawk, who lives outside Seattle and is a citizen of the Pawnee Nation.

From New York Times Dec. 12, 2023

Spencer now stars in the six-episode Prime Video miniseries “The English” as Eli Whipp, a former Pawnee scout for the U.S.

From Seattle Times Dec. 14, 2022

He was with a Pawnee woman whom he’d reportedly married after Anna’s death.

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

You have to ford numerous rivers, and the Shoshones, Pawnees and Sioux, were extremely adept at helping the pioneers make these fords.

From National Geographic Jul. 12, 2015

In Act II a band of Sioux chased a band of Pawnees, then performed a Sun Dance.

From Time Magazine Archive

Once the treasures were back in hand, the Pawnees asked the scientists what they had learned.

From Time Magazine Archive

He and most of the 2,000 other Kaws, Pawnees, Otos and Osages present had come in first-class automobiles.

From Time Magazine Archive

I have made up my mind to come down here with my party of Pawnees to live with you.”

From Pawnee Hero Stories and Folk-Tales With notes on the origin, customs and character of the Pawnee people by George Bird Grinnell

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