Illustration of peyote
- peyote 1
variants
or less commonly peyotl
1
plural peyote or peyotes
: a small, low, spineless cactus (Lophophora williamsii) of Mexico and southern Texas that has bluish- to grayish-green dome-shaped stems having jointed disk-shaped tubercles with tufts of woolly white hairs and that contains psychoactive alkaloids
Huichols speak of the peyote they gather as the flesh of deer, and of the tap root they customarily leave in the ground as its "bones," from which new plants will grow …—
Stacy B. Schaefer and Peter T. Furst
Stacy B. Schaefer and Peter T. FurstPeyote, a small, mescaline-laden cactus that grows in Mexico and Texas …—The Wilson Quarterly
The Wilson Quarterlycalled also mescal
2
: a hallucinogenic drug containing mescaline that is derived from the dried disk-shaped tops of the peyote cactus and is used especially in the religious ceremonies of some Indigenous American peoples
In my childhood home, the word "medicine" is how we referred to peyote. … At a very young age, I understood the sacredness of this medicine …—Dawn D. Davis
Dawn D. Daviscalled also mescal
see also peyote button
Examples of peyote in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In the early aughts, scientists dated two specimens of peyote, found in a cave near the Rio Grande, at more than five thousand years old.
—Michael Pollan, New Yorker, 19 May 2025
This category also includes heroin, LSD, methamphetamines and peyote.
—Greta Cross, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2025
Those trying to protect peyote disagree on whether it should be grown outside its natural habitat.
—Deepa Bharath and Jessie Wardarski, Los Angeles Times, 28 Dec. 2024
Climate & Environment Why are some Native Americans fighting efforts to decriminalize peyote?
March 29, 2020
Crutcher, a teacher and former natural resources director for the tribes, remembers employees in the maintenance building asking for cancer screenings.
—Gabe Stern, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for peyote
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Michael Pollan, New Yorker, 19 May 2025
This category also includes heroin, LSD, methamphetamines and peyote.
—Greta Cross, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2025
Those trying to protect peyote disagree on whether it should be grown outside its natural habitat.
—Deepa Bharath and Jessie Wardarski, Los Angeles Times, 28 Dec. 2024
Climate & Environment Why are some Native Americans fighting efforts to decriminalize peyote?
March 29, 2020
Crutcher, a teacher and former natural resources director for the tribes, remembers employees in the maintenance building asking for cancer screenings.
—Gabe Stern, Los Angeles Times, 10 Sep. 2024
See All Example Sentences for peyote
Cite this Entry
“Peyote.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/peyote. Accessed 5 Jun. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
peyote
noun
pey·o·te
pā-ˈōt-ē 
1
: a drug containing mescaline that causes hallucinations and is obtained from the dried round and flattened tops of a small spineless cactus of the southwestern U.S. and Mexico
2
: the cactus from which peyote is obtained
called also mescal
Medical Definition
peyote
noun
pey·o·te
pā-ˈōt-ē
variants
also peyotl
1
: a small, low, spineless cactus (Lophophora williamsii) of Mexico and southern Texas that has bluish- to grayish-green dome-shaped stems having jointed disk-shaped tubercles with tufts of woolly white hairs and that contains psychoactive alkaloids
called also mescal
2
: a hallucinogenic drug containing mescaline that is derived from the dried disk-shaped tops of the peyote cactus and is used especially in the religious ceremonies of some Indigenous American peoples
called also mescal
see also peyote buttonLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
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