mountain lion
26
2.5
- noun
- /ˈmaʊntən ˈlaɪən/
- US
:
puma
- The ranger warned hikers to be cautious of mountain lions in the area.
- mountain lions and wolves
- mountain lions and elk
- mountain lions and coyotes
So we got to relearn that just like the Mountain Lion is not quite like the house cat.
- So we got to relearn that just like the Mountain Lion is not quite like the house cat.
- Also, it's been shown to be effective and scaring away mountain lions or bears.
- I have never confused a woman scream for a cat scream aside from like a Mountain Lion.
- But also for people who haven't like grown up near like rural or like farming land, a Mountain Lion sounds like a like a crying woman.
Examples
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A trail camera photo has led to the recent confirmation of a mountain lion in Stafford County.
Blog text (7) -
Her frantic mind conjured up a hundred calamities: a rattlesnake? a mountain lion? The barn was on fire?
Fiction book (1992) -
I think it was a mountain lion attack.
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What do you know about mountain lions?
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There are no mountain lions up here, are there?
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One week, there was a special on mountain lions.
Academic text (1997) -
Someone left some food outside, and a mountain lion came sniffing around.
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We've got bears, mountain lions; these are serious predators.
-
The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum was a great exhibit of more than 300 live animal species, including mountain lions and prairie dogs.
Academic text (2007) -
Matheson says that because of their secretive and elusive nature, most mountain lions come through town undetected.
Blog text (15)
Synonyms
325
3.0
A large wild cat with a dark coat like a leopard or jaguar
22
3.6
A large wild cat in North and South America with a light brown coat and no spots or stripes
12
3.2
A large wild cat from the Americas with light brown fur
1
9.9
A large North American wild cat like a cougar or lynx
A large wild cat that lives in North American mountains
A large wild cat like a cougar or mountain lion that lives in the Americas
How Big
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound 'mountain lion' transparently combines 'mountain' (habitat) and 'lion' (a large feline), so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will infer it denotes a large wild cat associated with mountains. Although the species is technically a puma/cougar rather than a true lion, the referent is predictable from the parts and follows common noun–noun compounding patterns.
Etymology
Mountain lion is a name that comes from a simple picture: a large cat living in the hills, so people put mountain and lion together to show its home and size. Early people also called this 'wild cat' a 'cougar' or 'puma', and that's why mountain lion today means the big American cat known by those names.