Meaning & use
wickiup
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Meaning
nouncountablespecialistAmerican
A small dome-shaped or cone-shaped shelter made from a frame of poles covered with brush, grass or mats, traditionally used by some Native American peoples.
Grammar: Countable: one wickiup, many wickiups.
Patterns
- build a wickiup
- live in a wickiup
The guide showed us a replica wickiup built from willow poles and brush.
Apache families traditionally lived in a wickiup near water in warm months.
The museum has a full-size wickiup in its outdoor exhibit.
Word forms
| plural | wickiups |
|---|
Common combinations
- build a wickiup
- They learned to build a wickiup from branches and grass.
- brush wickiup
- A brush wickiup can be put up in a day.
- wickiup frame
- The wickiup frame was tied with strips of bark.
- traditional wickiup
- Visitors can step inside a traditional wickiup.
Synonyms and how they differ
- wigwam
- Wigwam is a dome-shaped dwelling of some peoples of the Northeast and Great Lakes and is far better known, while wickiup is tied to the Southwest and Great Basin.
- hut
- Hut is a general word for any small simple shelter, whereas wickiup names a specific type.
- shelter
- Shelter is the widest term and covers any protection from weather, while wickiup is a specific structure.
Word family
Commonly confused: wickiup or tepee?
wickiup vs tepee
A tepee is a cone-shaped tent covered in hides or canvas, used by Plains peoples. A wickiup is covered with brush, grass or mats.
Practice
At the history museum, the children entered a wickiup, which was a ___.
Choose one answer.
A wickiup is a dome or cone-shaped dwelling made from a pole frame covered with brush or grass. It is not a fort, boat or blanket.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “wickiup”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.