Word.ws English Dictionary

dire wolf

UK/ˈdaɪə wʊlf//ˈdaɪ.ɚ wʊlf/

dire wolf noun: an extinct canine (†Aenocyon dirus) from the Pleistocene epoch, heavier and slightly larger than the modern grey wolf.

dire wolf: an extinct canine (†Aenocyon dirus) from the Pleistocene epoch, heavier and slightly larger than...
Image: Sergiodlarosa, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun

dire wolf (plural dire wolves)

  1. An extinct canine (†Aenocyon dirus) from the Pleistocene epoch, heavier and slightly larger than the modern grey wolf.
    • Colossal scientists have created three dire wolf pups by using ancient DNA, cloning and gene-editing technology to alter the genes of a gray wolf, the prehistoric dire wolf’s closest living relative, the company announced Monday. […] The three dire wolves are living on a 2,000-acre site at an...2025 April 7, Katie Hunt, “Scientists say they have resurrected the dire wolf”, in CNN, Atlanta, Ga.: Warner Bros. Discovery, archived from the original on 08 Apr 2025
  2. Synonym of warg (“type of wolf”).
    Synonyms:
    warg

dire wolf meaning in Tamil

dire wolf in Tamil

இதுவும் ஒரு சிற்றினம் ஆகும்

Synonyms of dire wolf

Forms of dire wolf

pluraldire wolves
alternative formdirewolf

Origin of dire wolf

Calque from taxonomic name †Canis dirus.

Questions about dire wolf

What does dire wolf mean?
Dire wolf means an extinct canine (†Aenocyon dirus) from the Pleistocene epoch, heavier and slightly larger than the modern grey wolf.
What is dire wolf in Tamil?
Dire wolf in Tamil is இதுவும் ஒரு சிற்றினம் ஆகும். See Dire wolf meaning in Tamil.
What part of speech is dire wolf?
Dire wolf is a noun.
How do you pronounce dire wolf?
Dire wolf is pronounced /ˈdaɪ.ɚ wʊlf/ (US).
What is the plural of dire wolf?
The plural of dire wolf is dire wolves.

Words near dire wolf in the dictionary

  1. dirdum
  2. dire
  3. Dire Dawa
  4. dire straights
  5. dire straits
  6. dire wolf
  7. dire wolves
  8. direcshun
  9. direcshuns
  10. direct
  11. direct access

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: dire wolf (page history and authors); dire wolf (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-dire wolf.wav.

Cite this entry: “dire wolf.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/dire_wolf. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.