coyote

Everyday

1. A coyote is a wild animal of the dog family, smaller than a wolf, with grey-brown fur, big ears and a bushy tail, found across North and Central America. tree →
2. (US, slang) A coyote is also a person paid to smuggle people secretly across the border from Mexico into the USA. tree →

In the lessons

In science lessons coyotes come up in North American habitats and adaptation: they live in deserts, prairies, forests and even big cities, and eat almost anything — mice, rabbits, fruit and rubbish. They are famous for howling and yipping at night. In Native American stories, Coyote is a clever trickster. In cartoons, Wile E. Coyote always chases the Road Runner and fails.

Examples

• We heard coyotes howling in the desert at night. tree →
• Coyotes now live in many cities in North America. tree →
• The coyote hunted mice in the field. tree →
• A coyote is smaller than a wolf. tree →
• In Native American tales, Coyote is a trickster. tree →
• In the cartoon, the coyote never catches the Road Runner. tree →
• Keep small pets inside at night if coyotes live nearby. tree →
• Now Iktomi returned to the coyote who had been looking on through his eyelashes. tree →

Note

Plural «coyotes». Said «ky-OH-tee» or «KY-ote». Coyotes live only in the Americas; in Australia the wild dog is the dingo, in Africa the jackal. The smuggler meaning is slang.