gray wolf

noun

: a large, broad-headed, wide-muzzled wolf (Canis lupus) that has a dense, heavy coat of usually light brown or brownish gray interspersed with black above and yellowish white below and that was formerly widely distributed throughout North America and Eurasia but is now greatly restricted to the more northerly parts of its range

The only sizable gray wolf population south of Canada and Alaska continues to roam the forest-and-lake country of northern Minnesota.

—Vic Banks

Note: The gray wolf has been considered a threat to livestock and people for hundreds of years and has been wiped out from most of its original range by hunting, trapping, and poisoning.

called also timber wolf

Illustration of gray wolf

Examples of gray wolf in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

While Canada plays host to fascinating megafauna spanning from the polar bear to the gray wolf to the muskox, there’s one park in particular that offers a deep dive into the nation’s prehistoric past. —Jared Ranahan, Forbes.com, 31 Aug. 2025

The Mexican gray wolf has had a rough summer, out on the range and in the rooms where laws and regulations are written and enforced. —Shaun McKinnon, AZCentral.com, 26 Aug. 2025

The average gray wolf lives between three and four years in the Rocky Mountains. —Lauren Penington, Denver Post, 6 Aug. 2025

The state is beginning a process of re-evaluating protections for the gray wolf, triggered by the species’ success in re-establishing itself here. —Sacbee.com, 1 Aug. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1595, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for gray wolf

• werewolf
• beowulf

Kids Definition

gray wolf

noun

: a large wolf of northern regions that is usually gray

called also timber wolf