raccoon
noun
rac·coon
| \ ra-ˈkün also rə-
\
\
variants:
or less commonly racoon
plural raccoon
or raccoons
also racoon
or racoons
Definition of raccoon
1a
: a small nocturnal carnivore (Procyon lotor) of North America that is chiefly gray, has a black mask and bushy ringed tail, lives chiefly in trees, and has a varied diet including small animals, fruits, and nuts
b
: the pelt of this animal
2
: any of several animals resembling or related to the raccoon
Illustration of raccoon
raccoon 1a
Examples of raccoon in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For sea turtles, that means finding ways to foil natural predators — coyotes, raccoons, ghost crabs — that view nests as an all-you-can-eat buffet. — Lisa Maria Garza, orlandosentinel.com, "Sea turtle nests, protected from predators, set record high on Volusia County beaches," 13 Aug. 2019 Southwest Wildlife added that bears, coyotes, skunks, foxes and raccoons look forward to dry food along with their fresh food offerings. — Serena O'sullivan, azcentral, "Conservation center needs donations to feed wildlife due to policy change," 11 Aug. 2019 More than 200 of the animals killed — including foxes, raccoons, opossums, skunks, swine, and a black bear — were unintentional targets of the cyanide bombs, according to the department. — Mariel Padilla, BostonGlobe.com, "Trump administration reauthorizes use of ‘cyanide bombs’ to kill wild animals," 10 Aug. 2019 More than 200 deaths were nontarget animals, including foxes, opossums, raccoons, skunks and a bear. — Sophie Lewis, CBS News, "Trump administration reauthorizes use of "cyanide bombs" to kill wild animals," 8 Aug. 2019 When an injured baby raccoon was brought to Arkansas wildlife rehabilitation specialist Susan Curtis, the little mammal was in bad shape. — Fox News, "Injured baby raccoon uses custom-built mini-wheelchair," 14 Aug. 2019 When those raccoons turn up in the fireplace, Logan takes it out on the contractor who fixed up the house, accusing him of planting the dead animals as a statement of some sort on the Roy family legacy. — Emily Todd Vanderwerff, Vox, "Succession season 2: 4 winners and 4 losers from the premiere," 12 Aug. 2019 Phil McCully told NBC News that the department got a call about the trapped raccoon from a bicyclist riding to work. — NBC News, "A raccoon got stuck in a storm grate. Ten firefighters in Newton, Massachusetts, worked to get it out.," 2 Aug. 2019 This is a franchise that started with a story about a man building a high-tech suit of armor, and it’s since evolved into a galaxy-spanning macrocosm that includes time travel, Infinity Stones, and talking raccoons. — Devan Coggan, EW.com, "Here are all Marvel's upcoming Phase 4 movies and TV shows," 22 July 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'raccoon.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for raccoon
raccoon
noun
English Language Learners Definition of raccoon
: a small North American animal with grayish-brown fur that has black fur around its eyes and black rings around its tail
: the fur of a raccoon
See the full definition for raccoon in the English Language Learners Dictionary
raccoon
noun
rac·coon
| \ ra-ˈkün\
Kids Definition of raccoon
: a small North American animal that is mostly gray with black around the eyes, has a bushy tail with black rings, is active mostly at night, and eats small animals, fruits, eggs, and insects
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