tepee

noun

te·​pee ˈtē-(ˌ)pē 

variants or teepee or less commonly tipi

: a conical tent usually consisting of skins and used especially by American Indians of the Great Plains

Illustration of tepee

Examples of tepee in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s a twilight canoe outing on Bow River for a quintessential Canadian moment, white water rafting that ends with a night in Anishinaabe-style tepees, excursions on float planes, and even a day of wine tasting in the Okanagan valley. —Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 12 Feb. 2025

Because of the policy shift, the library has moved its after-school kids’ program to outdoor tepees to comply with the law. —Nicole Blanchard, Idaho Statesman, 4 Feb. 2025

Nearby stood the skeletons of tepees, which were originally hung with elk and buffalo hide, dyed and stitched by Native artisans. —Alexis Soloski, New York Times, 3 Jan. 2025

Some 40 tepees, home to about 200 people, stood beside the water. —Tim Madigan, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Dakota t^hípi, from t^hi- to dwell

First Known Use

1743, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for tepee

• be
• bee
• bree
• cree
• fee
• flea
• flee
• free
• gee
• ghee
• glee
• he

Kids Definition

tepee

noun

te·​pee

variants or teepee also tipi

ˈtē-pē

: a cone-shaped tent usually of skins used as a home especially by Indigenous people of the Great Plains

Etymology

from t^hípi, a word in the language of the Dakotas meaning "a dwelling tent," from t^hí- "to dwell"