Illustration of jaguar
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.
Examples of jaguar in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Follow jaguars through the borderlands in new documentary Thanks for reading and for subscribing to AZ Climate, the Arizona Republic's weekly environment newsletter.
—
Shaun McKinnon, AZCentral.com, 19 Jan. 2026
While the lake is said to have been discovered in 1905 by a 13-year-old boy named Ben Sands, the surrounding caverns were used by the Cherokee, and 20,000-year-old jaguar tracks were also found there.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 16 Jan. 2026
To compound the surreal mood, Petro’s office issued a meme that showed a bald eagle snuggling up to a jaguar.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 15 Jan. 2026
In 2024, the Fish and Wildlife Service revised the habitat set aside for jaguars to about 1,000 square miles in three Arizona counties following a legal battle.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 5 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for jaguar
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Shaun McKinnon, AZCentral.com, 19 Jan. 2026
While the lake is said to have been discovered in 1905 by a 13-year-old boy named Ben Sands, the surrounding caverns were used by the Cherokee, and 20,000-year-old jaguar tracks were also found there.
—Lydia Mansel, Travel + Leisure, 16 Jan. 2026
To compound the surreal mood, Petro’s office issued a meme that showed a bald eagle snuggling up to a jaguar.
—Jon Lee Anderson, New Yorker, 15 Jan. 2026
In 2024, the Fish and Wildlife Service revised the habitat set aside for jaguars to about 1,000 square miles in three Arizona counties following a legal battle.
—Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 5 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for jaguar
Cite this Entry
“Jaguar.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jaguar. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
jaguar
noun
jag·uar
ˈjag(-yə)-ˌwär 
: a large yellowish brown black-spotted cat of tropical America that is larger and has a more solid build than the leopard
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
