pemmican
noun
pem·mi·can
ˈpe-mi-kən 
variants
or less commonly pemican
: a concentrated food used by North American Indians and consisting of lean meat dried, pounded fine, and mixed with melted fat
also
: a similar preparation (as of dried beef, flour, molasses, suet) used for emergency rations
Examples of pemmican in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Ancient Incas utilized meat dehydration as far back as the 1500s, and indigenous North Americans shared a version of jerky, called pemmican, with the first European settlers.
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The Editors, Field & Stream, 15 Apr. 2020
At TMIP, Baltzley, a white guy with dreadlocks, offered testing menus inspired by his explorations of Native American cooking — pemmican, bison, berries.
—Devra First, BostonGlobe.com, 11 July 2018
There was food, too, including a hunk of unappetizing pemmican.
—John Kelly, Washington Post, 12 May 2018
People used to rely on food that could last, like pemmican and hardtack, Spam and Twinkies.
—Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2017
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The Editors, Field & Stream, 15 Apr. 2020
At TMIP, Baltzley, a white guy with dreadlocks, offered testing menus inspired by his explorations of Native American cooking — pemmican, bison, berries.
—Devra First, BostonGlobe.com, 11 July 2018
There was food, too, including a hunk of unappetizing pemmican.
—John Kelly, Washington Post, 12 May 2018
People used to rely on food that could last, like pemmican and hardtack, Spam and Twinkies.
—Ligaya Mishan, New York Times, 4 Oct. 2017
Cite this Entry
“Pemmican.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pemmican. Accessed 3 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
pemmican
noun
pem·mi·can
ˈpem-i-kən
: dried lean meat pounded fine and mixed with melted fat
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