peyote

noun

pey·​o·​te pā-ˈō-tē How to pronounce peyote (audio)
variants or less commonly peyotl
1
plural peyote or peyotes : a small, low, spineless cactus (Lophophora williamsii) of Mexico and southern Texas that has bluish- to grayish-green dome-shaped stems having jointed disk-shaped tubercles with tufts of woolly white hairs and that contains psychoactive alkaloids
Huichols speak of the peyote they gather as the flesh of deer, and of the tap root they customarily leave in the ground as its "bones," from which new plants will grow …Stacy B. Schaefer and Peter T. Furst
Peyote, a small, mescaline-laden cactus that grows in Mexico and Texas …The Wilson Quarterly

called also mescal

2
: a hallucinogenic drug containing mescaline that is derived from the dried disk-shaped tops of the peyote cactus and is used especially in the religious ceremonies of some Indigenous American peoples
In my childhood home, the word "medicine" is how we referred to peyote. … At a very young age, I understood the sacredness of this medicine …Dawn D. Davis

called also mescal

see also peyote button

Illustration of peyote

Illustration of peyote
  • peyote 1

Examples of peyote 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.
The Native American Church, which is considered the largest Indigenous church in America and is located throughout the Southwest, has been legally using peyote, a hallucinogen, for services since the 1990s. Pardis Mahdavi, The Conversation, 27 Aug. 2025 This Pearl Jam/jizz/peyote digression occurs after an opening Nineties trivia question about grunge frontmen. Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 20 Aug. 2025 In the early aughts, scientists dated two specimens of peyote, found in a cave near the Rio Grande, at more than five thousand years old. Michael Pollan, New Yorker, 19 May 2025 This category also includes heroin, LSD, methamphetamines and peyote. Greta Cross, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for peyote

Word History

Etymology

Mexican Spanish peyote, from Nahuatl peyotl peyote cactus

First Known Use

1849, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of peyote was in 1849

Cite this Entry

“Peyote.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peyote. Accessed 10 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

peyote

noun
pey·​o·​te pā-ˈōt-ē How to pronounce peyote (audio)
1
: a drug containing mescaline that causes hallucinations and is obtained from the dried round and flattened tops of a small spineless cactus of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico
2
: the cactus from which peyote is obtained

called also mescal

Medical Definition

peyote

noun
pey·​o·​te pā-ˈōt-ē How to pronounce peyote (audio)
variants also peyotl
1
: a small, low, spineless cactus (Lophophora williamsii) of Mexico and southern Texas that has bluish- to grayish-green dome-shaped stems having jointed disk-shaped tubercles with tufts of woolly white hairs and that contains psychoactive alkaloids

called also mescal

2
: a hallucinogenic drug containing mescaline that is derived from the dried disk-shaped tops of the peyote cactus and is used especially in the religious ceremonies of some Indigenous American peoples

called also mescal

see also peyote button

More from Merriam-Webster on peyote

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