gazelle
Americannoun
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gazelles,
plural
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gazelle
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of gazelle
1575–85; < French; Old French gazel < Arabic ghazāla
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How does gazelle compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
A gazelle is a graceful little antelope that's native to Africa and Asia. Gazelles are extremely fast, running at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour. Gazelles need to be speedy, since their predators include cheetahs, lions, and leopards. These elegant, long-legged animals were frequently used in ancient Arabic and Persian literature, usually as a symbol of female beauty, and gazelle comes from the Arabic ghazal, a lyric love poem typically set to music. The ancient Hebrew "Song of Songs" also includes a symbolic gazelle: "Come away, my beloved, and be like a gazelle."
Vocabulary lists containing gazelle
Africa - Introductory
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Africa - Middle School
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Africa - High School
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
She was a bag of doorknobs, but the movie camera found the gazelle inside the unicorn and captured the joy she radiated.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 8, 2026
The horned head of a stuffed gazelle had been knocked from its mount and was left sitting on the couch.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 1, 2026
The media engaged in a feeding frenzy like lions having downed a hapless gazelle.
From Salon ● Jul. 17, 2024
Sitaram, an animal conservationist in the city of Bikaner in Rajasthan who goes by one name, said that endangered chinkaras — also known as Indian gazelle — are facing a shortage for water.
From Seattle Times ● May 28, 2024
She was a tiger, a gazelle, a bear, a falcon.
From "The Titan's Curse" by Rick Riordan
The engravings, which depict animals such as camels, ibex, equids, gazelles, and aurochs, include 130 highly detailed and life-sized figures, some reaching up to 3 meters long and more than 2 meters tall.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 11, 2025
This behavior occurs across a range of animals, from guppies to gazelles.
From Scientific American ● Oct. 20, 2023
These Terps are grinders, not gazelles, and shortening the game against a team that averaged 82.6 points — fifth in the nation — was the best philosophy.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 19, 2023
So we made a maquette of the humans, the gazelles, and the wheels, and I took it to Florida to meet Michael Eisner.
From New York Times ● Nov. 16, 2022
That’s true, for example, of gazelles, which for thousands of years were the most frequently hunted game species in some parts of the Fertile Crescent.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
