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• springbok
  springbok

  noun

  a gazelle, Antidorcas marsupialis, of southern Africa, noted for its habit of springing into the air when alarmed.
• Springbok
  Springbok

  noun

  a person who has represented South Africa at rugby union

springbok

American  

[spring-bok] / ˈsprɪŋˌbɒk /

noun

springboks plural

1. a gazelle, Antidorcas marsupialis, of southern Africa, noted for its habit of springing into the air when alarmed.

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Springbok ¹ British  

/ -ˌbɒk, ˈsprɪŋˌbʌk /

noun

1. a person who has represented South Africa at rugby union

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springbok ² British  

/ ˈsprɪŋˌbʌk /

noun

1. an antelope, Antidorcas marsupialis, of semidesert regions of southern Africa, which moves in leaps exposing a patch of white erectile hairs on the rump that are usually covered by a fold of skin

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• springboks
  plural
• springbok
  plural

Etymology

Origin of springbok

1765–75; < Afrikaans. See spring, buck ¹

Example Sentences

That’s what has brought them to Sossusvlei, Namibia, an otherworldly place where giant dunes rise over a wide salt plain dotted with groups of springbok, oryx and ostriches.

From New York Times • Mar. 7, 2014

Watched a cheetah hunt down and catch a springbok this morning..

From BBC • Feb. 22, 2011

Who would win in a fight between a lion and a springbok?

From The Guardian • Oct. 21, 2010

The menu features typical African dishes like springbok shank and Nigerian spice-rubbed beef cubes.

From New York Times • Jun. 5, 2010

A stuffed springbok with horns and glassy amber eyes, stared at me from over the fireplace, and for a moment I forgot what I was going to say.

From "Confessions of a Murder Suspect" by James Patterson