Standard Lemma guide

coyote

name · noun · verb · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • US: /kəˈjoʊ.ti/
  • US: /kaɪˈoʊ.ti/
  • US:
  • UK: /kɔɪˈəʊt/
  • UK: /kɔɪˈəʊtɪ/
  • UK: /kaɪˈəʊ.ti/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: K AY0 OW1 T IY0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
  • CMU ARPABET 2: K AY1 OW0 T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

name

Meaning 1

An island of El Salvador.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

name

Meaning 2

A trickster figure found in many Native American folklores.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

Canis latrans, a species of canine native to North America.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: biology, natural-sciences, zoology

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: prairie wolf

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A smuggler of undocumented immigrants across the land border from Latin America into the United States of America.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, informal

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

verb

Meaning 5

To prospect for gold by manually digging holes into overlying earth, as into a hillside.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

small wolf native to western North America

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: prairie wolf, brush wolf, Canis latrans

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: wolf

Narrower terms: coydog

7

noun

Meaning 7

a forest fire fighter who is sent to battle remote and severe forest fires (often for days at a time)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: fire warden, forest fire fighter, ranger

8

noun

Meaning 8

someone who smuggles illegal immigrants into the United States (usually across the Mexican border)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: smuggler, runner, contrabandist, moon curser, moon-curser

History

Etymology

Borrowed from Spanish coyote, from a Nahuan language, from Proto-Nahuan *koyoo-tl. Compare Chinook ki-o-tī.

Across languages

Translations

136 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Afrikaans: prêriewolf — canine
  • Albanian: kojotë — canine
  • Guerrero Amuzgo: kítzë' jndë — canine
  • Chiricahua: ma’ye — canine
  • Chiricahua: mba’ye — canine
  • Chiricahua: mai — canine
  • Chiricahua: mbai — canine
  • Chiricahua: mai’ — canine
  • Western Apache: ma’ — canine
  • Western Apache: ba’ — canine
  • Arabic: قَيُّوط (qayyūṭ) — canine
  • Armenian: դաշտագայլ (daštagayl) — canine
  • Armenian: կոյոտ (koyot) — canine
  • Azerbaijani: koyyot — canine
  • Belarusian: каёт (kajót) — canine
  • Bengali: নেকড়েবিশেষ (nekṛebiśeś) — canine
  • Bulgarian: койо́т (kojót) — canine
  • Burmese: ကွိုင်းယုတ် (kwuing:yut) — canine
  • Cahuilla: 'isill — canine
  • Catalan: coiot — canine
  • Cherokee: ᏩᏯᎭ (wayaha) — canine
  • Cheyenne: ó'kôhóme — canine
  • Lealao Chinantec: dsɨ3nuu3 — canine
  • Chinese Cantonese: 郊狼 — canine
  • Chinese Mandarin: 郊狼 (jiāoláng) — canine
  • Ch'orti': b'ojb' — canine
  • Ch'orti': b'oj — canine
  • Comanche: kʉtseena — canine
  • Cree: ᒪᐦᐃᐦᑲᓐᑖᔥᑎᒥᒄ (mahihkantaashtimikw) — canine
  • Czech: kojot — canine
  • Danish: prærieulv — canine
  • Danish: coyote — canine
  • Dutch: coyote — canine
  • Dutch: prairiewolf — canine
  • Esperanto: kojoto — canine
  • Estonian: koiott — canine
  • Estonian: preeriahunt — canine
  • Finnish: kojootti — canine
  • French: coyote — canine
  • Gabrielino-Fernandeño: 'iitar — canine
  • Georgian: ველის მგელი (velis mgeli) — canine
  • Georgian: კოიოტი (ḳoioṭi) — canine
  • German: Kojote — canine
  • German: Präriewolf — canine
  • German: Steppenwolf — canine
  • Greek: κογιότ (kogiót) — canine
  • Hawaiian: kaioke — canine
  • Hebrew: זְאֵב עֲרָבוֹת (z’ev ‘aravot) — canine
  • Hidatsa: móohca — canine
  • Hindi: कायोटी (kāyoṭī) — canine
  • Hopi: iisaw — canine
  • Hungarian: prérifarkas — canine
  • Icelandic: sléttuúlfur — canine
  • Indonesian: koyote — canine
  • Ineseño: xuxaʼw — canine
  • Inupiaq: amaġuuraq — canine
  • Irish: cadhóit — canine
  • Italian: coyote — canine
  • Italian: coiote — canine
  • Japanese: コヨーテ (koyōte) — canine
  • Kazakh: шалғын қасқыры (şalğyn qasqyry) — canine
  • Kazakh: шалғынды қасқыр (şalğyndy qasqyr) — canine
  • Korean: 코요테 (koyote) — canine
  • Kyrgyz: койот (koyot) — canine
  • Lakota: šuŋgmánitu — canine
  • Latvian: koijots — canine
  • Lithuanian: kojotas — canine
  • Luiseño: ano — canine
  • Lushootseed: sbiaw — canine
  • Macedonian: којот (kojot) — canine
  • Malay: koyote — canine
  • Malay: کويوتي — canine
  • Alcozauca Mixtec: ndivá'i — canine
  • Yosondúa Mixtec: va'u — canine
  • Mongolian: талын чоно (talyn čono) — canine
  • Montana Salish: snč'l'e — canine
  • Central Huasteca Nahuatl: koyochichi — canine
  • Central Nahuatl: coyotl — canine
  • Classical Nahuatl: coyotl — canine
  • Eastern Durango Nahuatl: koyot — canine
  • Eastern Huasteca Nahuatl: koyochichi — canine
  • Guerrero-Nahuatl: kokoyotl — canine
  • Highland Puebla Nahuatl: koyot — canine
  • Mecayapan Nahuatl: coyo̱' — canine
  • Western Durango Nahuatl: koyót — canine
  • Western Huasteca Nahuatl: koyochichi — canine
  • Navajo: mąʼii — canine
  • Norwegian Bokmål: prærieulv — canine
  • Norwegian Bokmål: coyote — canine
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: prærieulv — canine
  • Norwegian Nynorsk: coyote — canine
  • Occitan: coiòt — canine
  • Omaha-Ponca: míkasi — canine
  • O'odham: ban — canine
  • Osage: šǫ́mįhkase — canine
  • Panamint: isa — canine
  • Pawnee: ckírihki — canine
  • Persian: کایوت (kâyot) — canine
  • Pipil: kuyut — canine
  • Plautdietsch: Kajote — canine
  • Polish: kojot — canine
  • Portuguese: coiote — canine
  • Romanian: coiot — canine
  • Russian: койо́т (kojót) — canine
  • Serbo-Croatian: којот — canine
  • Serbo-Croatian: kojot — canine
  • Seri: oot — canine
  • Seri: ziix ihimoz imaa — canine
  • Seri: ziix coocö — canine
  • Slovak: kojot — canine
  • Slovene: kojót — canine
  • Spanish: coyote — canine
  • Swedish: prärievarg — canine
  • Tagalog: koyote — canine
  • Tajik: койот (koyot) — canine
  • Taos: cʼȕnéna — canine
  • Southeastern Tepehuan: bhan — canine
  • Thai: ไคโยตี (kai-yoo-dtîi) — canine
  • Turkish: kır kurdu — canine
  • Turkmen: şagal — canine
  • Turkmen: koýot — canine
  • Tz'utujil: utiiw — canine
  • Ukrainian: койо́т (kojót) — canine
  • Unami: tànktëmetët — canine
  • Uzbek: koyot — canine
  • Vietnamese: sói đồng cỏ — canine
  • Wappo: húṭʼ — canine
  • Yucatec Maya: utiúu — canine
  • Aloápam Zapotec: sagueo — canine
  • Isthmus Zapotec: gueu' — canine
  • Yatzachi Zapotec: becoyo'o — canine
  • Zoogocho Zapotec: beco'yo — canine
  • Zuni: suski — canine
  • Portuguese: coiote — smuggler
  • Spanish: coyote — smuggler
  • Spanish: coyotero — smuggler
Real reading context

coyote in complete knowledge articles