GIRAFFE

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does giraffe mean? 

• GIRAFFE (noun)
  The noun GIRAFFE has 1 sense:

1. tallest living quadruped; having a spotted coat and small horns and very long neck and legs; of savannahs of tropical Africa

  Familiarity information: GIRAFFE used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• GIRAFFE (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Tallest living quadruped; having a spotted coat and small horns and very long neck and legs; of savannahs of tropical Africa

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Synonyms:

camelopard; Giraffa camelopardalis; giraffe

Hypernyms ("giraffe" is a kind of...):

ruminant (any of various cud-chewing hoofed mammals having a stomach divided into four (occasionally three) compartments)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "giraffe"):

okapi; Okapia johnstoni (similar to the giraffe but smaller with much shorter neck and stripe on the legs)

Holonyms ("giraffe" is a member of...):

genus Giraffa; Giraffa (type genus of the Giraffidae)

 Context examples 

Eight hundred thousand Sophie toys were sold in France in 2010 — more than eight times the number of real giraffes living in Africa.

(Study: Popularity of Wildlife Can Harm Public's Perception, VOA)

The air was dark with Davises, and many Joneses gamboled like a flock of young giraffes.

(Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott)

The study in the journal PLOS Biology lists what the authors say are the world's 10 most charismatic animals: tigers, lions, elephants, giraffes, leopards, pandas, cheetahs, polar bears, gray wolves and gorillas.

(Study: Popularity of Wildlife Can Harm Public's Perception, VOA)