gray wolf

noun

: 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

Nestled amid sticks and tufts of soft hair were two endangered Mexican gray wolf pups. —Shaun McKinnon, The Arizona Republic, 4 Nov. 2024

The most recent wolf sighting in the Lower Peninsula occurred in January, when a coyote hunter killed a gray wolf in Calhoun County. —Diamy Wang, Detroit Free Press, 14 June 2024

Delisting the gray wolf has been somewhat of a bipartisan goal among Wisconsin’s lawmakers on Capitol Hill. —Lawrence Andrea, Journal Sentinel, 30 Apr. 2024

Lawmakers are one step closer to removing the gray wolf from the endangered species list, an effort that has been a focus in Wisconsin’s congressional delegation. —Lawrence Andrea, Journal Sentinel, 30 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1595, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

gray wolf

noun

: a large wolf of northern regions that is usually gray

called also timber wolf