1
plural Ute or Utes : a member of an Indigenous people originally ranging through Utah, Colorado, Arizona, and New Mexico

Note: Current-day members live as part of the federally recognized Ute Indian Tribe (Northern Ute) of the Uinta and Ouray Reservation of Northeastern Utah or the federally recognized Southern Ute Tribe of Colorado.

2
: the Uto-Aztecan language of the Ute people

Examples of Ute in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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State health officials said people who visited the following locations may have been exposed: Landmark Baptist Church and School at 1600 Ute Ave. Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 17 Aug. 2025 Written accounts from the late 19th and early 20th centuries among Ute, Shoshone and Arapaho peoples describe moose stories, hunts and songs. John Wendt, The Conversation, 11 Aug. 2025 Trimble learned from the practices of the Ute Indians, who embraced the hot, healing waters that bubbled to the surface in that mountain region, that settling – and soaking – there may just be his cure. Moira McCarthy, Boston Herald, 10 Aug. 2025 Even before the train departed Salt Lake City, an onboard host offered a land acknowledgment—honoring the traditional territories of the Ute (Nuuchu), Arapaho (Nookhose'iinenno), and Cheyenne (Tsis tsis'tas) peoples, along with the 48 contemporary Indigenous nations connected to Colorado. Susmita Baral, Travel + Leisure, 31 July 2025 See All Example Sentences for Ute

Word History

Etymology

short for earlier Utah, Utaw, from American Spanish Yuta

First Known Use

1846, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of Ute was in 1846

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Cite this Entry

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

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