wigwam

noun

wig·​wam ˈwig-ˌwäm 

: a hut of the American Indians of the Great Lakes region and eastward having typically an arched framework of poles overlaid with bark, mats, or hides

also : a rough hut

Illustration of wigwam

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

The monastery is a former motel with a lobby in the shape of a wigwam, where Bran’s mother meditates and vacuums and rapidly dies of ovarian cancer, which means Bran never gets to ask whether the call of the nunnery was worth abandoning a daughter. —New York Times, 17 May 2022

Uncommon accommodations: Snooze in a caboose, a yacht, a wigwam or a swanky tent. —AZCentral.com, 4 June 2021

Snooze in a caboose, a yacht, a wigwam or a swanky tent. —Roger Naylor, The Arizona Republic, 12 May 2021

The Nowashe Village will include a main village, two wigwams, an archaeology laboratory, a wetland with a boardwalk, a fire circle which will be used for storytelling, and the Three Sisters Garden. —Quoron Walker, courant.com, 11 Oct. 2019

The museum was built in 1930 and is meant to mimic the colonial architecture — thatched roof cottages, wigwams, and more – of the 1600s. —Kayla Keegan, Good Housekeeping, 24 June 2019

As the paper in the fireplace ignites, place the thin broken branches, one by one, against the burning wigwam. —Ross Mccammon, Popular Mechanics, 30 Nov. 2018

Gardeners are at work everywhere, churning compost and arranging horticultural fleece over willow wigwams. —Jo Rodgers, Vogue, 6 Aug. 2018

Learn how the French voyageurs and Potawatomi were connected, feel a beaver pelt, see canoes built of birch bark and walk inside a wigwam. —Annie Alleman, chicagotribune.com, 13 May 2018

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Word History

Etymology

Eastern Abenaki wìkəwαm house

First Known Use

1628, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

wigwam

noun

wig·​wam ˈwig-ˌwäm 

: a hut used by the American Indians of the Great Lakes region and eastward usually having an arched frame of poles covered with bark, rush mats, or hides