Skip to main content
coati

coati

1 8.4
A mammal like a raccoon with a long nose and a ringed tail that eats plants and small animals
  • noun
  • /koʊˈɑːti/
  • US
: coati

Examples

  • Now, did you get the female coati that I asked for?

  • That coati is nothing but trouble.

  • Did you know that pumpkins make for great enrichment for our active and curious South American coati at the San Francisco Zoo?

    Blog text (14)
  • The coati is known for its long snout and distinctive ringed tail.

  • While walking in the rainforest, we spotted a coati searching for food among the leaves.

  • At the zoo, the playful coati interacted with visitors through the glass of its enclosure.

Synonyms

coati-mundi
vscoati
  • US
1 9.9

A mammal like a raccoon with a long nose and a ringed tail

is the unhyphenated general name for the same animal
coati-mondi
vscoati
  • US
9.9

A Central and South American animal like a raccoon with long nose and tail that eats fruit and insects

is the standard spelling describing the animal's long ringed tail
Nasua
vscoati
  • Specialized
9.9

A mammal like a raccoon that lives in Central and South America

is the everyday common name rather than the scientific genus term

Compounds

1 9.9

A mammal like a raccoon with a long nose and a ringed tail

9.9

A Central and South American animal like a raccoon with long nose and tail that eats fruit and insects

Surface Forms

coati singular
coatis plural

Etymology

The word coati comes from a Native South American word and entered English through Portuguese and Spanish. Locals used that name for the animal, so coati still means the long-nosed, ringed-tail mammal that is like a 'raccoon'.