puma

American  

[pyoo-muh, poo-] / ˈpyu mə, ˈpu- /

noun

1. cougar.

2. the fur of a cougar.

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puma British  

/ ˈpjuːmə /

noun

1. Also called: cougar.   mountain lion.  a large American feline mammal, Felis concolor, that resembles a lion, having a plain greyish-brown coat and long tail

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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.

Example Sentences

When the research team applied population models to the data, the results showed that puma predation alone was unlikely to drive the Monte Leon penguin colony to extinction.

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

The complaint included multiple time-stamped pictures of a puma on the property.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 20, 2024

To date, at least 46 lions have died from car crashes, and the puma found dead on the 405 was the second to perish on a freeway in the region in a month.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 12, 2024

The lab report came back that it was indeed the scat of Felis concolor, the eastern mountain lion, also variously and respectfully known as the panther, cougar, puma, and, especially in New England, catamount.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson