spirit animal

American

[spir-it an-uh-muhl] / ˈspɪr ɪt ˌæn ə məl /

noun

plural

spirit animals

in certain traditional belief systems, an animal believed to be the incarnation of a guiding or protective spirit.
an animal thought of as representing the character traits that a person possesses or wants to cultivate.

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.

The custom readings are bound in booklets, each featuring a spirit animal, such as a panda, and suggested habits.

From Los Angeles Times • May 4, 2026

Below, Herzog talks about his own spirit animal, the necessities he brings into the field and the penguin from one of his movies that recently turned into a meme.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 16, 2026

“The bear runs through our veins, it is the spirit animal for those in our area,” said Costel Dascalu, who started taking part in the festival when he was 8.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 29, 2023

"I identify as Doris," one person commenting said, while others claimed the cow as their own "spirit animal".

From BBC • Mar. 30, 2023

“We’ve had a lot of visits from leopards recently: first the spirit animal by the stream, and then the one in the banana grove.”

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023