jackal

UK:**UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/ˈdʒækɔːl/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/ˈdʒækəl, -ɔl/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling( jak′əl, -ôl)


WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
jack•al /ˈdʒækəl, -ɔl/USA pronunciation   n. [countable]
  1. Mammalsa wild dog of Asia and Africa that hunts in packs, often at night.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
jack•al  ( jak′əl, -ôl),USA pronunciation n. 
  1. Mammalsany of several nocturnal wild dogs of the genus Canis, esp. C. aureus, of Asia and Africa, that scavenge or hunt in packs.
  2. a person who performs dishonest or base deeds as the follower or accomplice of another.
  3. a person who performs menial or degrading tasks for another.
  • alteration, by association with Jack, of Persian shag(h)āl; cognate with Sanskrit śṛgāla
  • 1595–1605

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
jackal /ˈdʒækɔːl/ n
  1. any of several African or S Asian canine mammals of the genus Canis, closely related to the dog, having long legs and pointed ears and muzzle: predators and carrion-eaters
  2. a person who does menial tasks for another
Etymology: 17th Century: from Turkish chakāl, from Persian shagāl, from Sanskrit srgāla
'jackal' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Anubis - Forsyth - fox

🗣️Forum discussions with the word(s) "jackal" in the title:


Look up "jackal" at Merriam-Webster
Look up "jackal" at dictionary.com
  • Go to Preferences page and choose from different actions for taps or mouse clicks.

In other languages: Spanish | French | Italian | Portuguese | Romanian | German | Dutch | Swedish | Russian | Polish | Czech | Greek | Turkish | Chinese | Japanese | Korean | Arabic

Advertisements
Advertisements
Report an inappropriate ad.
WordReference.com
WORD OF THE DAY
GET THE DAILY EMAIL!

Become a WordReference Supporter to view the site ad-free.