carabao

[kahr-uh-bah-oh]

noun

plural

carabaos 

1. (in the Philippines) the wild or domesticated water buffalo: endangered in the wild.

carabao

/ ˌkærəˈbeɪəʊ /

noun

1. another name for water buffalo

Word History and Origins

Origin of carabao¹

First recorded in 1895–1900; from Philippine Spanish, from Visayan karabáw, apparently from Malay kerbau, perhaps ultimately a borrowing from an Austroasiatic source; compare Khmer krapī, also borrowed into Thai as krabụ̄

Word History and Origins

Origin of carabao¹

from Visayan karabáw; compare Malay karbaw

Example Sentences

“To own a jeep is like owning a carabao. A driver depends on it for livelihood much like a farmer depends on the beast,” said Mr. Tabing.

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It also listed caribou instead of carabao as the animal the author rode on her visit.

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A man led a carabao, a type of water buffalo, on one of the few roads that remain accessible.

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“But if you burn the houses, destroy the rice, burn the boats and destroy the carabao, they are as good as dead.”

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When he imagined himself getting squashed by a carabao or a jeepney, it terrified him, even though he wasn’t completely sure what either of those things were.

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