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• caribou
  caribou

  noun

  any of several large, North American deer of the genus Rangifer, related to the reindeer of the Old World.
• Caribou
  Caribou

  noun

  a mixed drink containing wine and grain alcohol

caribou

American  

[kar-uh-boo] / ˈkær əˌbu /

noun

• caribous,
  plural
• caribou
  plural

1. any of several large, North American deer of the genus Rangifer, related to the reindeer of the Old World.

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Caribou ¹ British  

/ ˈkærɪˌbuː /

noun

1. a mixed drink containing wine and grain alcohol

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caribou ² British  

/ ˈkærɪˌbuː /

noun

1. Also called (Canadian): tuktu. a large deer, Rangifer tarandus, of Arctic regions of North America, having large branched antlers in the male and female: also occurs in Europe and Asia, where it is called a reindeer

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• caribou
  plural
• caribous
  plural

Etymology

Origin of caribou

An Americanism first recorded in 1665–75; from Canadian French caribou, replacing earlier English caribo, both from Mi'kmaq γalipu derivative (agent noun) of γalipi- “shovel snow,” from unattested Proto-Algonquian maka·lipi-; called the snow-shoveler from its habit of scraping aside snow with its front hoofs in search of food

Compare meaning

How does caribou compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• caribou vs. deer
• caribou vs. reindeer

Explanation

A caribou is a large animal with four legs, hooves, and big antlers. In Europe and Asia, a caribou is known as a reindeer. In North America, caribou live in parts of Canada and Alaska, in both tundra and boreal forests. Many caribou migrate long distances, and all of them are herbivores, living to a great degree on a specific type of lichen. The word caribou is originally French Canadian, from the Micmac word kaleboo, "the one who paws," for the way caribou scratch the snow aside to find moss in the winter.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

caribou Caribou caribous

Trucks hauled parts for drilling rigs along gravel roads crossed by caribou.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026

The caribou population will be lost if we do nothing.

From Slate ● Apr. 28, 2026

Olsen told AFP of the tears of pride she shed when her grandson killed his first caribou at age 11, preferring to talk about her family than about Trump.

From Barron's ● Feb. 6, 2026

She is now in the process of mapping out the route her family has taken for generations while migrating south in spring, towards the caribou hunting grounds.

From BBC ● Apr. 9, 2025

As the two ran side by side, the gleam of their headpieces told her it was the breeding season of the caribou.

From "Julie of the Wolves" by Jean Craighead George

Shares of biopharmaceutical company Caribou Biosciences fell 62% this week after announcing it is exploring strategic alternatives and cutting jobs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026

“There was something sort of absurd about the name Caribou, it just made make me laugh,” said Buchheit, the 23rd employee hired at a company that now employs more than 180,000 people.

From Seattle Times ● Mar. 31, 2024

Caribou, near its northern apex, lies 400 miles north of Boston, a drive of more than six hours.

From New York Times ● Mar. 22, 2024

One example was the baby grand piano splayed out on its back on Caribou Lane off Beverly Glen Boulevard.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 5, 2024

You have heard what their fathers did here in British Columbia when there was gold in Caribou?

From Thrice Armed by Harold Bindloss

Since 2015, a slaughter has unfolded in the mountains of British Columbia, all in the name of saving southern mountain caribous, classified as threatened in Canada.

From Science Magazine ● Apr. 17, 2024

Yet it was along Highway 37 that we saw the richest array of wildlife: bears, moose, foxes, wild horses, eagles and caribous.

From New York Times ● Jul. 8, 2011

"You want to act like the smart caribous and stand in the middle of the pack," says Crane.

From Time Magazine Archive

But we know nothing of the cause which produced the musk-ox migration, which migration resulted in such unsettling of life conditions for the wolves, caribous, and foxes of this one locality.

From A Book-Lover's Holidays in the Open by Theodore Roosevelt

How about plunging into the fastnesses of the skyscraper country and biting some big bull caribous in the chest?'

From The Gentle Grafter by H. C. Greening