Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

cheetah

/ˈt͡ʃiːtə/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.20 in modern English

Syllables: chee-tah
IPA: /ˈt͡ʃiːtə/

15

Scrabble Score

7

Letters

2

Syllables

5

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A distinctive member (Acinonyx jubatus) of the cat family, slightly smaller than the leopard, but with proportionately longer limbs and a smaller head; native to Africa and southeast Asia (where it is nearly extinct) and also credited with being the fastest terrestrial animal.

Etymology

Borrowed from Hindi चीता (cītā, “leopard, panther”), ultimately from Sanskrit चित्र (citra, “multicolored, speckled”) (akin to Old High German haitar (“bright”) > German heiter; Old Norse heiðr (“bright”)) + Sanskrit काय (kāya, “body”), thus “having a spotted body”.

Origin

Source language: Sanskrit

Word Breakdown

Root: चित्र

Inflected Forms

cheetahs (plural) chetah (alternative, archaic) cheeta (alternative, archaic)

Derived Forms

cheetahlike

Phrases

American cheetah do cheetah flips giant cheetah king cheetah Northeast African cheetah

Synonyms

guepard hunting cat hunting leopard chetah acinonyx jubatus

Homonyms

Chita cheater (non-rhotic)

Rhymes With

rita meta anita margarita greta peta nikita lolita pita juanita kita bonita

Questions

How do you pronounce cheetah?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈt͡ʃiːtə/.
What does cheetah mean?: A distinctive member (Acinonyx jubatus) of the cat family, slightly smaller than the leopard, but with proportionately longer limbs and a smaller head; native to Africa and southeast Asia (where it is nearly extinct) and also credited with being the fastest terrestrial animal.
Where does cheetah come from?: It is traced to Sanskrit.

How to pronounce cheetah

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “cheetah”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈt͡ʃiːtə/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “cheetah”.
Repeat and practice — Say “cheetah” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.