: a person, animal, or object adopted by a group as a symbolic figure especially to bring them good luck
the team had a mountain lion as their mascot
Examples of mascot in a Sentence
The team had a mountain lion as their mascot.
she wears a mascot made of ebony and silver on a chain around her neck
Recent Examples on the Web
Jeeters, a pink, furry mascot decked out in yellow overalls and a towering blue hat, will be at the park all season.
—
Chrissy Suttles, Axios, 10 Mar. 2025
The celebrated Dutch jewelry designer Bibi van der Velden has unveiled her first all-diamond collection to mark her brand’s 20th anniversary, based around her favorite sharp-toothed mascot: the alligator.
—Kate Matthams, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
Attendees are encouraged to wear team jerseys and apparel, and floats will celebrate the colors and mascots of favorite teams and organizations.
—Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 5 Mar. 2025
Parker the Snow Dog, Loveland Ski Area’s beloved mascot and the honorary mayor of Georgetown, has died at age 8.
Dustin Schaefer, Parker’s owner, confirmed the dog’s death to The Denver Post.
—Sofia Joucovsky, The Denver Post, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mascot
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Chrissy Suttles, Axios, 10 Mar. 2025
The celebrated Dutch jewelry designer Bibi van der Velden has unveiled her first all-diamond collection to mark her brand’s 20th anniversary, based around her favorite sharp-toothed mascot: the alligator.
—Kate Matthams, Forbes, 8 Mar. 2025
Attendees are encouraged to wear team jerseys and apparel, and floats will celebrate the colors and mascots of favorite teams and organizations.
—Caroline Kubzansky, Chicago Tribune, 5 Mar. 2025
Parker the Snow Dog, Loveland Ski Area’s beloved mascot and the honorary mayor of Georgetown, has died at age 8.
Dustin Schaefer, Parker’s owner, confirmed the dog’s death to The Denver Post.
—Sofia Joucovsky, The Denver Post, 21 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for mascot
Articles Related to mascot
Cite this Entry
“Mascot.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mascot. Accessed 15 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
mascot
noun
mas·cot
ˈmas-ˌkät 
also -kət
: a person, animal, or object supposed to bring good luck
Etymology
from French mascotte "mascot," from a Romance word mascoto "charm," literally "little witch," from masco "witch," from Latin masca "witch"
Word Origin
The word mascot is an example of words that come to have a more pleasant meaning as they develop through the years and through many languages. The ancestor of mascot is the Latin word masca, used in the Middle Ages to mean "witch." Masca passed into the Romance speech of southern France as masco. Later it developed a derivative mascoto, literally meaning "little witch" but actually used to mean "charm" or "magic spell." A magic spell can be used for good as well as bad. Already, then, we have the beginnings of a change to a nicer idea in the basic use of the word. The word mascoto came to be mascotte in modern French, meaning a "good luck charm." It was made popular by the operetta La Mascotte in 1880. In this operetta "la mascotte" is the lovely young woman Bettina, whose influence brings victories to the army of the prince of Pisa. English later borrowed the word as mascot, with the meaning "a person or thing thought to bring good luck." Today the word is often used to refer to an animal chosen by a school or college as a good luck symbol for its sports teams.
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