Definition of 'hippopotamus'

COBUILD frequency band

hippopotamus

(hɪpəpɒtəməs

)

Word forms: plural hippopotamuses

1. countable noun

A hippopotamus is a very large African animal with short legs and thick, hairless skin. Hippopotamuses live in and near rivers.

Image of
hippopotamus

hippopotamus in American English

(ˌhɪpəˈpɑtəməs )

nounWord forms: plural hippopotamuses, hippopotami (ˌhɪpəˈpɑtəˌmaɪ ), hippopotamusOrigin: L < Gr hippopotamos, lit., river horse < hippos (see hippo-) + potamos, river, orig., that which goes down < IE base *pet-, to fall, fly > feather, Gr pteryx, wing

any of a family (Hippopotamidae) of large, plant-eating, artiodactylous mammals with a heavy, thick-skinned, almost hairless body and short legs: they live chiefly in or near rivers in Africa

COBUILD frequency band

hippopotamus in American English

(ˌhɪpəˈpɑtəməs)

nounWord forms: plural -muses, -mi (-ˌmai)

a large herbivorous mammal, Hippopotamus amphibius, having a thick hairless body, short legs, and a large head and muzzle, found in and near the rivers, lakes, etc., of Africa, and able to remain under water for a considerable time

Derived forms

hippopotamic (ˌhɪpəpəˈtæmɪk) or hippopotamian (ˌhɪpəpəˈteimiən)

adjective

Word origin

[1555–65; ‹ L ‹ Gk hippopótamos, earlier híppos potámios lit., riverine horse (term used by Herodotus in his account of the Egyptian hippopotamus); cf. ME ypotame, ypotamos, ypotanus ‹ OF ypotame ‹ ML ypotamus]

COBUILD frequency band

hippopotamus in British English

(ˌhɪpəˈpɒtəməs

)

nounWord forms: plural -muses or -mi (-ˌmaɪ

)

a very large massive gregarious artiodactyl mammal, Hippopotamus amphibius, living in or around the rivers of tropical Africa: family Hippopotamidae. It has short legs and a thick skin sparsely covered with hair

2. See pigmy hippopotamus

Word origin

C16: from Latin, from Greek hippopotamos river horse, from hippos horse + potamos river

Examples of 'hippopotamus' in a sentence
hippopotamus

These examples have been automatically selected and may contain sensitive content that does not reflect the opinions or policies of Collins, or its parent company HarperCollins.

We welcome feedback: report an example sentence to the Collins team. Read more…

Suddenly, a lantern flared and a hippopotamus loomed up in front of them.Who else had a voice that could express the rage of a baboon, a leopard and a hippopotamus in one rise and fell swoop?It was as if she had asked him how he would like to be a hippopotamus.