: a small nocturnal carnivore (Procyon lotor) of North America that is chiefly gray, has a black mask and bushy ringed tail, lives chiefly in trees, and has a varied diet including small animals, fruits, and nuts
b
: the pelt of this animal
2
: any of several animals resembling or related to the raccoon
Illustration of raccoon
raccoon 1a
Examples of raccoon in a Sentence
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Some people have to remove bird feeders during the summer because of problems with bears, raccoons, and other wild animals.—
Brandee Gruener,
Southern Living,
4 July 2026 One Maryland family of five was left paying $13,000 out of pocket after their dogs encountered a rabid raccoon, 12 on Your Side reports.—
Cara Lynn Shultz,
PEOPLE,
2 July 2026 People should not approach wild animals that appear sick, injured, or dead, including nocturnal species such as bats and raccoons that are active during daylight hours.—
Kelli Arseneau,
USA Today,
1 July 2026 This enables researchers to track spatial and temporal trends for many Wisconsin species, such as black bears, bobcats, coyotes, opossum and raccoons.—
Noël Fletcher,
Forbes.com,
1 July 2026 See All Example Sentences for raccoon
: a small North American mammal that is mostly gray with a black mask, has a bushy ringed tail, lives chiefly in trees and is active at night, and eats a varied diet including small animals, fruits, eggs, and insects
also: the pelt of a raccoon
Etymology
Virginia Algonquian raugroughcoon, arocoun "racoon"