tepee

noun

te·​pee ˈtē-(ˌ)pē 

variants or teepee or tipi

plural tepees or teepees or tipis

: a conical tent usually consisting of skins and used especially by Indigenous peoples of the Great Plains

Illustration of tepee

Examples of tepee in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The exhibit also features a tepee display in recognition of Missing and Murdered Indigenous People and the disproportionately high rates of disappearances of Indigenous and native Americans. — Sacbee.com, 16 July 2026

It was made from beaded buckskin by Angeline’s grandmother, and at a tribal gathering in the 1920s, a tourist girl visited the family’s tepee and refused to leave without it. — Jeanne Malle, Air Mail, 4 July 2026

The Missouri River and Lewis and Clark campsites and Indian tepee rings still intact! — Padgett Powell, Harpers Magazine, 30 June 2026

The camp with dozens of tepees stood along the Little Bighorn River, with people there from tribes in the Dakotas and as far away as Washington state. — ABC News, 25 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Dakota t^hípi, from t^hi- to dwell

First Known Use

1743, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tepee

• be
• bee
• bree
• cree
• fee
• flea
• flee
• free
• gee
• ghee
• glee
• he

Kids Definition

tepee

noun

te·​pee

variants or teepee also tipi

ˈtē-pē

: a cone-shaped tent usually of skins used as a home especially by Indigenous people of the Great Plains

Etymology

from t^hípi, a word in the language of the Dakotas meaning "a dwelling tent," from t^hí- "to dwell"