Illustration of jaguar
jaguar
noun
jag·uar ˈja-ˌgwär 
-gyə-ˌwär
-gyə-ˌwär -gwər;
dialectal -gwī(-ə)r,
especially British ˈja-gyə-wər
plural jaguars also jaguar
: a large cat (Panthera onca) chiefly of Central and South America that is larger and stockier than the leopard and is brownish yellow or buff with black spots
Did you know?
The jaguar is the largest New World cat. It was once found in wooded regions from the U.S.-Mexican border south to Patagonia, Currently, the jaguar survives, in reduced numbers, only in remote areas of Central and South America; the largest known population is in the Amazon rain forest. The male is 5.5-9.0 ft. (1.7-2.7 m) long, including the tail, which measures 23-35-in. (60-90-cm) long, and weighs 220-350 lbs. (100-160 kg). The coat is typically orange-tan with black spots arranged in rosettes with a black spot in the center. A solitary predator, the jaguar usually hunts rodents, deer, birds, and fish; it will also take cattle, horses, and dogs.
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web The last female jaguar in the U.S. was killed in Arizona in 1949. 
Ganesh Marin, The Conversation, 19 Apr. 2022 Llescas Furter recalls a brief, up-close encounter with a wild jaguar that the team had trapped and tranquilized. Emiliano Ruprah, Wired, 31 July 2021 But the results are masks covered in brilliant images, like the sharp, triangular-toothed, bright-orange jaguar. Ryan Lenora Brown, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 June 2020 The lions, tigers, cheetahs, snow leopards and jaguars are often given cardboard boxes to shred as enrichment but that stopped because of questions about how long coronavirus might remain on cardboard. Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12 May 2020 Indy Prize: Face-to-face with a jaguar: This Indy Prize finalist grew to love animals at an early ageEarle's career of ocean exploration has been extensive. London Gibson, Indianapolis Star, 8 May 2020 In his first scene, Karamakate is drawing what looks like a jaguar on a large rock by a river, wearing a loincloth and a necklace made of crocodile teeth. Camila Osorio, The New Yorker, 27 May 2020 Their home is guarded by two mastiffs, and jaguars and tigers frequently roam around their eight-acre yard. Washington Post, 9 May 2020 By this point, the animal cast numbered 132 lions, tigers, leopards, cougars, and jaguars, as well as a 10,000-pound bull elephant named Timbo, which Marshall and Hedren acquired from an animal park in Canada. Clark Collis, EW.com, 7 Apr. 2020 See More
Ganesh Marin, The Conversation, 19 Apr. 2022 Llescas Furter recalls a brief, up-close encounter with a wild jaguar that the team had trapped and tranquilized. Emiliano Ruprah, Wired, 31 July 2021 But the results are masks covered in brilliant images, like the sharp, triangular-toothed, bright-orange jaguar. Ryan Lenora Brown, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 June 2020 The lions, tigers, cheetahs, snow leopards and jaguars are often given cardboard boxes to shred as enrichment but that stopped because of questions about how long coronavirus might remain on cardboard. Meg Jones, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12 May 2020 Indy Prize: Face-to-face with a jaguar: This Indy Prize finalist grew to love animals at an early ageEarle's career of ocean exploration has been extensive. London Gibson, Indianapolis Star, 8 May 2020 In his first scene, Karamakate is drawing what looks like a jaguar on a large rock by a river, wearing a loincloth and a necklace made of crocodile teeth. Camila Osorio, The New Yorker, 27 May 2020 Their home is guarded by two mastiffs, and jaguars and tigers frequently roam around their eight-acre yard. Washington Post, 9 May 2020 By this point, the animal cast numbered 132 lions, tigers, leopards, cougars, and jaguars, as well as a 10,000-pound bull elephant named Timbo, which Marshall and Hedren acquired from an animal park in Canada. Clark Collis, EW.com, 7 Apr. 2020 See More Word History
Etymology
Portuguese, from Tupi jawára large carnivore
First Known Use
1604, in the meaning defined above
Kids Definition
jaguar
noun
jag·uar ˈjag-ˌwär
: a large yellowish brown black-spotted animal of the cat family found chiefly from Mexico to Argentina