Raccoon Meaning
/ɹəˈkuːn/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounAn omnivorous, nocturnal mammal native to the Americas, of the genus Procyon, typically with a mixture of gray, brown, and black fur, a mask-like marking around the eyes and a striped tail.
nounThe common raccoon (Procyon lotor).
Sentence Examples
Do you see the raccoon?
There's a raccoon in my bedroom!
The dogs finally gave up and wandered away from the raccoon.
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the backyard, a clever ____ opened the lid of the garbage bin.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ knocked over the bin in the night and scattered rubbish across the driveway.
Word Origin & History
From arocoun (1608), from Powhatan ärähkun, from ärähkuněm (“he scratches with his hands”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Before a fire upon a seat like a bedsted, he sat covered with a great robe, made of Rarowcun skinnes, and all the tayles hanging by."
— 1624, Iohn [i.e., John] Smith, The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles: […], London: […] I[ohn] D[awson] and I[ohn] H[aviland] for Michael Sparkes, →OCLC:
"The Rackoone is a deepe furred beaſt, not much unlike a Badger, having a tayle like a Fox, as good meate as a Lambe; there is one of them in the Tovver."
— 1634, William Wood, “Of the Beasts that Live on the Land”, in New Englands Prospect. A True, Lively, and Experimentall Description of that Part of America, Commonly Called New England; […], London: […] Tho[mas] Cotes, for Iohn Bellamie, […], →OCLC, 1st part, page 22:
"Thus we're presented with[…]a man who has the head of his penis bitten off by a raccoon, then bleeds to death in a forest."
— 2010 April 3, Charlie Brooker, “Screen Burn”, in The Guardian:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
In the backyard, a clever ____ opened the lid of the garbage bin.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The ____ knocked over the bin in the night and scattered rubbish across the driveway.