gray wolf
nounDefinition of gray wolf
: 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
The three pups bring the total number of gray wolves in California to at least seven, and perhaps as many as 10. — Paul Rogers, The Mercury News, "Video: Three new wolf pups born in Northern California," 6 Aug. 2019 Babbitt also faced controversy over the reintroduction of gray wolves in Yellowstone in 1995. — Ian James, azcentral, "He took down dams, freed wolves and preserved wildlands. Bruce Babbitt is still at work," 14 July 2019 Born seven weeks ago at the Oakland Zoo, the gray wolf pups are thriving — all four are healthy and ready to explore their 2.3 acres of land. — Eduardo Medina, SFChronicle.com, "Gray wolf pups at Oakland Zoo symbolize revival for California-native species," 5 July 2019 Several packs of gray wolves live at the Wolf Center, in enclosures spanning a few acres. — Ingfei Chen, The New Yorker, "The Persuasive Power of the Wolf Lady," 29 May 2019 Signed into law in 1973 by President Richard Nixon, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is credited with saving America’s national animal — as well as the California condor, grizzly bear, northern gray wolf, and more. — Jasmine Aguilera, Time, "The Trump Administration's Changes to the Endangered Species Act Risks Pushing More Species to Extinction," 14 Aug. 2019 Coyotes, cougars and gray wolves were better able to adapt their diets by hunting small mammals or scavenge from carcasses when large prey disappeared. — Ashley Strickland, CNN, "Fossils in La Brea Tar Pits reveal why coyotes still exist, but not saber-toothed cats," 5 Aug. 2019 In the 1800s, wild gray wolves loped amid thick Oakland forests on their descendants’ future zoo grounds. — Eduardo Medina, SFChronicle.com, "Gray wolf pups at Oakland Zoo symbolize revival for California-native species," 5 July 2019 The Detroit Zoo's beloved gray wolf, Wazi, has died. — Dixita Limbachia, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit Zoo's beloved gray wolf dies from cardiac arrest," 25 June 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'gray wolf.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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