Adjacent Words

cheetah definitions

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WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: long-legged spotted cat of Africa and southwestern Asia having nonretractile claws; the swiftest mammal; can be trained to run down game [syn: cheetah, chetah, Acinonyx jubatus]

Merriam Webster's

noun (plural cheetahs; also cheetah) Etymology: Hindi c?t? & Urdu ch?t? leopard, from Sanskrit citraka, from citra bright, variegated; akin to Old High German heitar bright — more at -hood Date: 1610 a long-legged spotted swift-moving African and formerly Asian cat (Acinonyx jubatus) about the size of a small leopard that has blunt nonretractile claws

Britannica Concise

Slender, long-legged cat (Acinonyx jubatus) that lives on open plains of S, central, and E Africa, and in the Middle East, where it is all but extinct. The fastest land animal in the world over short distances, it can reach a speed as great as 60 mph (100 kph). Its claws differ from those of other cats in being only partly retractable and in lacking protective sheaths. Like cats in the genus Felis, cheetahs purr rather than roar. The cheetah grows to about 55 in. (140 cm) long, excluding the 29-31-in. (75-80-cm) tail, and weighs 110-130 lbs (50-60 kg). The adult's coarse fur is sandy yellow above, white below, and covered with small black spots; a black streak runs down the face from the corner of each eye. The cheetah hunts by day, alone or in small groups.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. a swift-running feline, Acinonyx jubatus, with a leopard-like spotted coat. Etymology: Hindi cita, perh. f. Skr. citraka speckled

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Cheetah Chee"tah, n. [Hind. ch[=i]t[=a].] (Zo["o]l.) A species of leopard (Cyn[ae]lurus jubatus) tamed and used for hunting in India. The woolly cheetah of South Africa is C. laneus. [Written also chetah.]

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(cheetahs) A cheetah is a wild animal that looks like a large cat with black spots on its body. Cheetahs can run very fast. N-COUNT

Moby Thesaurus

Leo, Siberian tiger, bobcat, cat-a-mountain, catamount, cougar, jaguar, leopard, lion, lynx, mountain lion, ocelot, painter, panther, puma, simba, tiger, wildcat