hippopotamus
noun
hip路po路pot路a路mus
| \ 藢hi-p蓹-藞p盲-t蓹-m蓹s
\
\
plural hippopotamuses
or hippopotami\ 藢hi-p蓹-藞p盲-t蓹-藢m墨
, -(藢)m膿 \
, -(藢)m膿 \
Definition of hippopotamus
: any of a family (Hippopotamidae) of very large, four-toed, chiefly aquatic, herbivorous artiodactyl mammals having a very large head and mouth, nearly hairless thick grayish skin, long lower canine teeth, and relatively short legs, and including two living species:
a
: one (Hippopotamus amphibius) of sub-Saharan Africa that has webbing between the toes, spends most of the day in or near water, and typically weighs between 3 to 4 tons (2700 to 3600 kilograms)
Illustration of hippopotamus
Examples of hippopotamus in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Begemot is the Russian word for hippopotamus, and behemoth. — Sam Patten, WIRED, "Kostya and Me: How Sam Patten Got Ensnared in Mueller鈥檚 Probe," 14 Aug. 2019 The invasive fauna included the ancestors of modern-day lion, zebra, rhinoceros, hippopotamus and antelopes. — Paul Manger, Quartz Africa, "Elephants evolved larger brains partly thanks to climate change, say scientists," 28 June 2019 Leonardo鈥檚 visual acuity was driven by his abiding faith in nature鈥檚 design, whether a tree root or a hippopotamus. — Claudia Kalb, National Geographic, "Why Leonardo da Vinci鈥檚 brilliance endures, 500 years after his death," 12 June 2019 Martin Van Buren had tigers and Calvin Coolidge had a hippopotamus. — Kevin Fisher-paulson, SFChronicle.com, "Bandit weighs pack of first dog hopefuls," 11 June 2019 To expand its grocery business in China, Alibaba now operates 57 Hema supermarkets, a high-end chain with a hippopotamus logo. — Esther Fung, WSJ, "China鈥檚 Online Shopping Giants Open Thousands of Bricks-and-Mortar Stores," 31 July 2018 Lions, giraffes, hippopotamus, and impalas are also fairly common, while rhinoceros and cheetahs are decidedly more rare to spot. — Lindsay Silberman, Town & Country, "How to Plan a Safari in Kenya: A Beginner's Guide," 14 Nov. 2018 Most of them took jewelry and other personal adornments to their graves: strands of ostrich eggshell or vibrantly colored stone beads, hippopotamus ivory rings or bangles, or headpieces made from latticed arrangements of animal teeth. — Kiona N. Smith, Ars Technica, "Archaeologists explore East Africa鈥檚 ancient monumental cemeteries," 21 Aug. 2018 Carved ivory upper and lower dentures (18th century) The first dentures were made of hippopotamus ivory, which was thought to be more durable. — Roslyn Sulcas, New York Times, "This Exhibition Has Real Bite," 7 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'hippopotamus.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for hippopotamus
hippopotamus
noun
English Language Learners Definition of hippopotamus
: a large African animal that has an extremely large head and mouth and short legs and that spends most of its time in water
See the full definition for hippopotamus in the English Language Learners Dictionary
hippopotamus
noun
hip路po路pot路a路mus
| \ 藢hi-p蓹-藞p盲-t蓹-m蓹s
\
\
plural hippopotamuses
or hippopotami\ -藢m墨 \
Kids Definition of hippopotamus
: a large African animal with thick hairless brownish gray skin, a big head, and short legs that eats plants and spends most of its time in rivers
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