teepee

American  

[tee-pee] / ˈti pi /

Or tepee,

noun

• teepees
  plural

1. a tent of the American Indians, made usually from animal skins laid on a conical frame of long poles and having an opening at the top for ventilation and a flap door.

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teepee British  

/ ˈtiːpiː /

noun

1. a variant spelling of tepee

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• teepees
  plural

Etymology

Origin of teepee

An Americanism first recorded in 1735–45; from Dakota tʰípi, equivalent to tʰí- “to dwell” + -pi plural indefinite abstract noun suffix

Compare meaning

How does teepee compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• wigwam vs. teepee

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

teepee teepees

The property includes a lodge, a teepee, a basketball court, a number of ponds and creeks, and several hunting areas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Just 30 minutes later, his key worker Cookson put him down again for a second sleep in the afternoon, placing him inside a small teepee that was decorated in tinsel for Christmas.

From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026

The lavvu, a traditional Sámi structure that resembles a teepee or a tent, is insulated with reindeer skins, and in the center, on a floor of twigs, a hearth.

From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2023

Twiggy brush, wire fencing or a teepee strung with string all provide purchase for the vines’ fine curling tendrils to cling to.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 12, 2022

Outside the restaurant window, there’s a giant teepee and a beautiful lit pool.

From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti

Hides for clothing and teepees, bones for tools and weapons, horns for ladles, hair for rope — a steady supply of bison was fundamental.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 21, 2022

At various stops, we see remnants of the Indians’ time — rounded depressions, mostly, which served as firepits inside their teepees, along with an obsidian arrowhead that Mark finds at our second camp.

From Washington Post ● Oct. 7, 2022

In the summer, he would take Ms. Miguel’s older sisters to Golden City, a long-since-forgotten amusement park in the Canarsie neighborhood of Brooklyn, where they would dance and sing and sit around in teepees.

From New York Times ● Mar. 4, 2022

“They set up this little community, put their teepees up and had some tents donated, and there were kids everywhere,” Thompson said, sobbing.

From National Geographic ● Dec. 21, 2020

She learned that they lived in wigwams, not teepees, and that they made canoes from the bark of a single white birch tree, removed in one piece so as not to kill it.

From "Orphan Train" by Christina Baker Kline