dire wolf

noun

: a large extinct wolflike mammal (Aenocyon dirus) known from Pleistocene deposits of North America

Examples of dire wolf in a Sentence

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Thousands of years ago, prey animals fell into the seeps, made a ruckus, and attracted predators such as the saber-tooth cat and the dire wolf. Matt Hrodey, Discover Magazine, 3 Aug. 2023 But an international team of scientists reported in the journal Nature that the first sequencing of the dire wolf genome showed an unexpectedly large genetic separation between the two species, big enough that the dire wolf is not just a separate species but a separate genus. Star Tribune, 28 Jan. 2021 Sabertooth cats also lived among the dire wolf, stag-moose, muskox, giant short-face bears, bison, and mammoth. Steven Hill, Field & Stream, 4 Apr. 2023 The study Perri participated in opens up whole new avenues of investigation into the life and evolution of the dire wolf. Connor Lynch, Discover Magazine, 14 Dec. 2022 See all Example Sentences for dire wolf 

Word History

First Known Use

1925, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dire wolf was in 1925

Dictionary Entries Near dire wolf

Cite this Entry

“Dire wolf.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dire%20wolf. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

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