1
plural Ute or Utes : a member of an Indigenous people originally ranging through Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico

Note: Current-day members live as part of the federally recognized Ute Indian Tribe (Northern Ute) of the Uinta and Ouray Reservation of Northeastern Utah or the federally recognized Southern Ute Tribe of Colorado.

2
: the Uto-Aztecan language of the Ute people

Examples of Ute in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
Members of the Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute tribes will be able to enter state parks for free. Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 5 Aug. 2025 Even before the train departed Salt Lake City, an onboard host offered a land acknowledgment—honoring the traditional territories of the Ute (Nuuchu), Arapaho (Nookhose'iinenno), and Cheyenne (Tsis tsis'tas) peoples, along with the 48 contemporary Indigenous nations connected to Colorado. Susmita Baral, Travel + Leisure, 31 July 2025 The Elkhorn fire, northeast of Durango, grew in size, but the Rim Road fire, on the Southern Ute Reservation, did not grow and reached enough containment for officials to lift evacuation orders for that fire. Elise Schmelzer, Denver Post, 28 July 2025 In fact, their Ute neighbors had warned the white settlers to avoid these sacred ruins. Mike Bezemek, Smithsonian Magazine, 10 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for Ute

Word History

Etymology

short for earlier Utah, Utaw, from American Spanish Yuta

First Known Use

1846, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of Ute was in 1846

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Cite this Entry

“Ute.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Ute. Accessed 20 Aug. 2025.

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