Paiute

noun

Pai·​ute ˈpī-ˌyüt 

variants or less commonly Piute

1

plural Paiute or Paiutes also Piute or Piutes : a member of a group of Indigenous peoples originally inhabiting western and southern parts of the U.S. Great Basin

2

: either of the two Uto-Aztecan languages of the Paiute people

Examples of Paiute in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In May, after the Navajo Nation, Hopi tribe, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe and other parties reached an agreement on the settlement, the Navajo Nation Council unanimously approved the settlement and President Buu Nygren signed it. —Arlyssa D. Becenti, The Arizona Republic, 10 July 2024

The Navajo Nation, Hopi Tribe and San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe signed onto the Northeastern Arizona Indian Water Rights Settlement Agreement, which, if confirmed by Congress, will enable the three tribes to claim a share of Colorado River water. —Debra Utacia Krol, The Arizona Republic, 13 June 2024

Members of the Walker River Paiute Tribe have watched the boundaries of their land recede over time along with the waters of the lake that are central to their identity, threatening the cultural symbol that gave the tribe its name — Agai Dicutta, or Trout Eaters. —Eva Roytburg, Fortune, 10 June 2024

Help could be on the way if Congress approves a historic agreement reached between the Navajo, Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute Tribes and the state of Arizona that would settle all of their outstanding water rights claims to the Colorado River Basin. —Tyrone Beason, Los Angeles Times, 1 June 2024

The Navajo, Hopi and San Juan Southern Paiute tribes are hoping to close the deal quickly under a Democratic administration in Arizona and with Joe Biden as president. —Susan Montoya Bryan, Fortune, 24 May 2024

This includes the Havasupai Tribe, Hopi Tribe, Hualapai Tribe, Kaibab Band of Paiute Indians, Las Vegas Paiute Tribe, Moapa Band of Paiutes, Paiute Indian Tribe of Utah, Navajo Nation, San Juan Southern Paiute Tribe, Yavapai-Apache Nation, Pueblo of Zuni and the Colorado River Indian Tribes. —Dina Kaur, The Arizona Republic, 17 Jan. 2024

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife will be returning more than 40 acres of Inyo County land to the Indigenous Paiute people in early in 2024, including a decades-old fish hatchery located along historic Route 395. —Roberto Reyes, Los Angeles Times, 8 Dec. 2023

Around 70,000 people were in Black Rock City, a self-sustaining community on the territory of the Northern Paiute people. —Hazlitt, 1 Nov. 2023

Word History

Etymology

alteration of Pie-Utaw, alteration of Paiuches, plural, from American Spanish Payuchis Southern Paiutes

First Known Use

1827, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

Paiute

noun

Pai·​ute ˈpī-ˌ(y)üt 

: a member of an Indigenous people originally of Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California