Definition of leopard
1a : a large strong cat (Panthera pardus) of southern Asia and Africa that is adept at climbing and is usually tawny or buff with black spots arranged in rosettes —called also pantherb : the fur or pelt of a leopard
2 : a heraldic representation of a lion passant guardant
From the M-W Editors
Recent Examples of leopard from the Web
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Part of the monitoring process involves outfitting wild lions with GPS collars, which is why this surrogate leopard mom is wearing one.
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Bass Tub scored nicely on halibut to 30 pounds, stripers and leopard sharks in Central Bay.
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Some of the boats including Happy Hooker and California Dawn caught bonus leopard sharks.
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The large-scale paintings depict a girl shouldering a limp leopard and standing in a field that changes in appearance with the seasons.
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The answer varies, according to 40 years of data on leopard families collected from a game reserve in South Africa.
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But Kendall switched things up for her latest Instagram snapshots, instead giving flashes of '60s style cues like a beehive/bouffant updo, as well as cute leopard print and gingham intimates.
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Raise a glass to the new baby gorilla, the snow leopard, and even the naked mole rats at this fund-raiser featuring craft ales from more than 70 brewers, including Saint Benjamin, Victory, New Belgium, Double Nickel, and the Duck-Rabbit.
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The soupfin shark is a relative of the leopard shark and the smooth hound shark.
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'leopard.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Illustration of leopard
Origin and Etymology of leopard
Middle English, from Anglo-French lepart, leupart, from Late Latin leopardus, from Greek leopardos, from leōn lion + pardos leopard
LEOPARD Defined for English Language Learners
leopard
playDefinition of leopard for English Language Learners
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: a large brownish-yellow cat with black spots that lives in Asia and Africa
LEOPARD Defined for Kids
leopard
playDefinition of leopard for Students
: a large animal of the cat family found in Asia and Africa that has a brownish buff coat with black spots and is an excellent climber
Learn More about leopard
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See words that rhyme with leopard Spanish Central: Translation of leopard Nglish: Translation of leopard for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of leopard for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about leopard
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