cougar

[ koo-ger ]

noun

, plural cou·gars, (especially collectively) cou·gar.

1. Also called mountain lion, panther, puma. a large, tawny cat, Felis concolor, of North and South America: now greatly reduced in number and endangered in some areas.
2. Informal. an older woman who seeks sexual relationships with much younger men:

   He's in his twenties, but he prefers cougars in their forties and fifties to young women his own age.

cougar

/ ˈkuːɡə /

noun

1. another name for puma
2. slang.
   a woman in her 30s or 40s who actively pursues casual sexual relationships with young men

Word History and Origins

Origin of cougar¹

First recorded in 1765–75; from French couguar, from New Latin cuguacu ara, cuguacuarana, apparently a misrepresentation of either Guarani guaçu ara or Portuguese çuçuarana, suçuarana (from Tupi susuarana )

Word History and Origins

Origin of cougar¹

C18: from French couguar, from Portuguese cuguardo, from Tupi suasuarana, literally: deerlike, from suasú deer + rana similar to

Example Sentences

Attempts to get P-22 a star have been repeatedly rebuffed because the cougar doesn’t have enough screen credits, said Pratt, though there are four documentaries about him — “The Secret Diary of P-22,” “America’s Most Infamous Mountain Lion,” “P22: That Cat That Changed America” and its sequel, “Strong Hunter.”

From Los Angeles Times

If the new cougar stays, he’ll face the same challenges as his predecessor.

From Los Angeles Times

“He IS more Hollywood than any celebrity — the Brad Pitt of the cougar world. But did Brad actually sleep under the Hollywood sign at night?”

From Los Angeles Times

He was treated for a bad case of mange and other maladies in 2014, but he never found a mate, as far as scientists could discover, although Pratt holds out hope that his DNA will turn up in some young cougar someday.

From Los Angeles Times

The young tawny cougar with the broad, handsome features headed east for nearly 50 miles to escape his father, wandering through whatever green spaces he could find “and probably more than few backyards,” Pratt said.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• mountain lion
• panther