gray wolf

noun

: a large, broad-headed, wide-muzzled wolf (Canis lupus) that has a dense, heavy coat of usually light brown or brownish gray interspersed with black above and yellowish white below and that was formerly widely distributed throughout North America and Eurasia but is now greatly restricted to the more northerly parts of its range

The only sizable gray wolf population south of Canada and Alaska continues to roam the forest-and-lake country of northern Minnesota.

—Vic Banks

Note: The gray wolf has been considered a threat to livestock and people for hundreds of years and has been wiped out from most of its original range by hunting, trapping, and poisoning.

called also timber wolf

Illustration of gray wolf

Examples of gray wolf in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The quarter-ton bears, apex predators who are revered by some Native American tribes but also feared for their attacks on livestock and sometimes humans, became locally extinct in California in 1924, the same year that the last California gray wolf was captured and killed. —Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 7 Apr. 2026

The gray wolf howled, trotted back and forth, and gradually worked closer and closer to the nervous but fascinated caribou. —Frank Glaser, Outdoor Life, 1 Apr. 2026

For the dire wolf project, scientists edited 14 out of roughly 19,000 genes in gray wolf DNA to produce hybrid offspring with traits associated with dire wolves — lighter fur color, larger size and greater cold resistance. —Hanna Wickes, Miami Herald, 16 Mar. 2026

The endangered Mexican gray wolf population in Arizona and New Mexico has grown to 319, a record high. —Sarah Henry, AZCentral.com, 26 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1595, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gray wolf

• werewolf
• beowulf

Kids Definition

gray wolf

noun

: a large wolf of northern regions that is usually gray

called also timber wolf