Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word
hippo. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
hippo, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
hippo in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
hippo you have here. The definition of the word
hippo will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
hippo, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Pronunciation
Noun
hippo (plural hippos)
- Clipping of hippopotamus.
1899 February, Joseph Conrad, “The Heart of Darkness”, in Blackwood’s Edinburgh Magazine, volume CLXV, number M, New York, N.Y.: The Leonard Scott Publishing Company, , →OCLC, part I, page 218:There was an old hippo that had the bad habit of getting out on the bank and roaming at night over the station grounds.
1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Poison Belt , London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:"I've seen them buryin' a chief up the Aruwimi River, and they ate a hippo that must have weighed as much as a tribe."
2006 June 24, The Weekend Argus:The Eastern Cape village whose dam has been taken over by a hippo will decide next week what happens to the animal.
- (historical, slang, South Africa) An armored personnel carrier used by the South African Defence Force.
- Coordinate term: mellow yellow
- (informal, derogatory) An overweight or obese person.
- Synonyms: fatass, fatso, fatty, whale
- (informal, Chess) Hippopotamus Defence.
Derived terms