plural Pawnee or Pawnees
: a member of an Indigenous people living in east-central Nebraska during the first half of the 19th century
Note: Current members of the Pawnee live as part of the federally recognized Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma.
Examples of Pawnee in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Firefighters are battling blazes in Logan, Pawnee, Beckham and Roger Mills counties, including one about seven miles northwest of Sweetwater, near the Oklahoma-Texas border, officials said.
—
Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 19 Mar. 2025
Scott Olson/Getty Images A state of emergency remains in effect for 12 Oklahoma counties: Cleveland, Creek, Dewey, Grady, Lincoln, Logan, Oklahoma, Pawnee, Payne, Pottawatomie, Roger Mills and Stephens.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 18 Mar. 2025
There has been one death each in Lincoln, Garfield, Haskell, and Pawnee counties, the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management said in an update Monday.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 18 Mar. 2025
With a tone that recalls Quentin Tarantino, The English tells the tale of a grieving mother (Emily Blunt) and a member of the Pawnee Nation (Chaske Spencer) who are forced into an allyship to survive a brutal journey.
—Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for Pawnee
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Bill Hutchinson, ABC News, 19 Mar. 2025
Scott Olson/Getty Images A state of emergency remains in effect for 12 Oklahoma counties: Cleveland, Creek, Dewey, Grady, Lincoln, Logan, Oklahoma, Pawnee, Payne, Pottawatomie, Roger Mills and Stephens.
—Kerry Breen, CBS News, 18 Mar. 2025
There has been one death each in Lincoln, Garfield, Haskell, and Pawnee counties, the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management said in an update Monday.
—Minyvonne Burke, NBC News, 18 Mar. 2025
With a tone that recalls Quentin Tarantino, The English tells the tale of a grieving mother (Emily Blunt) and a member of the Pawnee Nation (Chaske Spencer) who are forced into an allyship to survive a brutal journey.
—Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 18 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for Pawnee
Cite this Entry
“Pawnee.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Pawnee. Accessed 29 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
Pawnee
noun
Paw·nee
pȯ-ˈnē 
pä-
: a member of an Indigenous people originally of Nebraska and Kansas
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share