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Glite Dictionary
brush wolf

brush wolf

8.5
A small wild dog that lives in western North America and often howls at night
  • noun
  • /brʌʃ wʊlf/
  • US
translation icon : coyote
  • The brush wolf is known for its adaptability.

Examples

  • Many brush wolves roam the deserts of Nevada.

  • Early settlers sometimes mistook the brush wolf for a young gray wolf.

  • A brush wolf can often be heard howling on quiet nights in the prairie.

  • The ranchers reported seeing a brush wolf lurking near their cattle at dusk.

  • Brush wolves are known for their adaptability in various environments across North America.

  • The brush wolf is often mistaken for a coyote due to its similar size and appearance.

  • Many people enjoy watching the brush wolf in its natural habitat during outdoor expeditions.

Synonyms

coyote
vsbrush wolf
  • US
70 2.8

A small wild dog that lives in North America and often howls

is the same animal but given as another common name
prairie wolf
vsbrush wolf
  • US
1 6.0

A small wild animal that looks like a dog from western North America, often called a coyote

is the same animal but expressed with a different common name linked to habitat
Canis latrans
vsbrush wolf
  • Specialized
7.4

A small wild dog from North America called the coyote

is the common spoken name rather than a scientific label

Surface Forms

brush wolf singular
brush wolves plural

Morphology

brush + wolf

The noun-noun compound is directly compositional: 'brush' (a thicket of shrubs) modifies 'wolf', yielding 'a wolf that lives in or is associated with brush/brushland'. This follows productive English compounding patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both words could readily infer it refers to a small canid (i.e., coyote) found in brush.

Etymology

Brush wolf comes from early settlers who saw a small, wolf-like animal living in the thick, low plants called the brush, so they called it a wolf of the brush. That's why brush wolf means 'coyote' today.