giraffe
Americannoun
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giraffes
plural
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a tall, long-necked, spotted ruminant, Giraffa camelopardalis, of Africa: the tallest living quadruped animal.
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Astronomy. Giraffe, the constellation Camelopardalis.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of giraffe
First recorded in 1585–95; from French girafe, from Italian giraffa, from dialectal Arabic zirāfah; further origin uncertain
Explanation
A giraffe is an extremely tall animal with a very long neck. You can't miss the giraffes at the zoo, because they tower above all the other animals. Giraffes are the tallest living animals on land, the very largest of them being three times taller than an average human. The name giraffe can be traced back to the Arabic zarafa and is thought to be rooted in an African language. An earlier English name for these African ungulates was camelopard, from their similarities to camels (four legs, long neck) and leopards (spots).
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:
On the lam in Texas: Gracie the giraffe.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 25, 2026
Holly sees an elephant, my husband sees a giraffe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
As the animal grew from dog sized to horse sized to giraffe sized and eventually to enormous proportions, its place in the ecosystem shifted at each stage.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 27, 2026
Kenyan authorities seized 400kg of giraffe meat as part of the global crackdown and, in Belgium, primate flesh was found.
From BBC ● Dec. 11, 2025
I turn to see the child by the giraffe reaching his arm out as Woo scrambles away.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
Patterns resembling Voronoi diagrams can often be seen in nature, including the markings on giraffes.
From Science Daily ● May 14, 2026
“Think how you’ll grieve for all you’ll leave behind,” she sings to a herd of otters, koalas, flamingos, giraffes, bunnies and kangaroos fleeing Oz for the safety of the Yellow Brick Underground Railroad.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 18, 2025
In recent weeks, hundreds of giraffes, zebras, and antelopes have been removed from the Kedong Ranch, on the shores of tourist hotspot Lake Naivasha.
From Barron's ● Nov. 17, 2025
There are giraffes, elephants and dinosaurs, but none is animatronic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
Animals took shape: yellow giraffes, blue lions, pink antelopes, lilac panthers cavorting in crystal substance.
From "The Martian Chronicles" by Ray Bradbury
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.
