raccoon dog

noun

Definition of raccoon dog

: a small omnivorous canid (Nyctereutes procyonoides) of eastern Asia having a long yellowish-brown coat and facial markings resembling that of a raccoon

— called also tanuki

Examples of raccoon dog in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The artwork features a snoozing raccoon dog, who wakes up out of his slumber and accidentally falls off an icy cliff, which suddenly turns into a luge course. — Wandera Hussein, Billboard, "Google Doodles Slides Into Luge Competition for Doodle Snow Games Day 5," 13 Feb. 2018 The miniature houses with front stoops guarded by potted plants and tanuki (raccoon dog) figurines had a stillness about them. — Adam H. Graham, Condé Nast Traveler, "The Ise-Shima Peninsula Is a Portal Into Old Japan," 2 June 2017 Or raccoon dogs, animals that look like raccoons but are actually wild members of the canid family, like foxes and wolves, and can spread diseases and become too difficult to handle. — National Geographic, "Why You Shouldn't Share That Cute Lemur Video," 26 Apr. 2016 Tree kangaroos show countershading, Holtz says, and the forest-dwelling raccoon dogs wear color patterns much like Sinosauropteryx. — Brian Switek, Smithsonian, "This Adorable Bandit-Faced Dinosaur Will Steal Your Heart," 26 Oct. 2017 The Alliance prohibits the use of coyote, mink, rabbit, fox, karakul, raccoon dog, and any other species bred specifically for their fur. — Leah Silverman, Town & Country, "Gucci Commits to Fur-Free Fashion in Their Future," 12 Oct. 2017 Camera traps captured images of a bison, 21 boars, nine badgers, 26 gray wolves, 60 raccoon dogs (an Asian species also called a tanuki), and 10 red foxes. — National Geographic, "Animals Rule Chernobyl Three Decades After Nuclear Disaster," 18 Apr. 2016

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'raccoon dog.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about raccoon dog

Dictionary Entries near raccoon dog

Statistics for raccoon dog

Look-up Popularity

Time Traveler for raccoon dog

The first known use of raccoon dog was in 1868

See more words from the same year

Comments on raccoon dog

What made you want to look up raccoon dog? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

WORD OF THE DAY

gritty

showing courage and determination

Test Your Vocabulary

Words for Summer: A Quiz

Which of the following words means “of or relating to summer”?

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

TAKE THE QUIZ

SCRABBLE® Sprint

Test Your Knowledge - and learn some interesting things along the way.

TAKE THE QUIZ