noun
Etymology
Origin of puma
1770–80; < Spanish < Quechua
Explanation
A puma is a type of big cat that looks a bit like a lion. In fact, another name for a puma is a mountain lion. Puma, cougar, panther, and mountain lion are different names for the same animal, the Puma concolor. While pumas are quite a bit larger than your family cat (weighing as much as 200 pounds), they are still considered members of the "small cat" species, which include bobcats, lynx, and ocelots, among many others. Pumas are found from northern Canada to South America, the largest range of any land animal in the Americas.
Vocabulary lists containing puma
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.
In those cases, high levels of puma predation made the situation worse but were not the primary cause.
From Science Daily • Feb. 8, 2026
The female puma - later nicknamed Felicity - was caught by a farmer frustrated by a series of savage attacks on livestock.
From BBC • Dec. 28, 2024
But was the puma really to blame for the killings or an unwitting participant in an elaborate hoax, and why did big cat sightings continue after she was caught?
From BBC • Dec. 28, 2024
The complaint included multiple time-stamped pictures of a puma on the property.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 20, 2024
I saw enormous puma and condor statues carved from solid rock.
From "The Ugly One" by Leanne Statland Ellis
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.
