caribou

[ kar-uh-boo ]

/ ˈkær əˌbu /

noun, plural car·i·bous, (especially collectively) car·i·bou.

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

Nearby words

Origin of caribou

1665–75, Americanism; < Canadian French caribou, replacing earlier English caribo, both < Micmac γalipu derivative (agent noun) of γalipi- shovel snow < Proto-Algonquian *maka·lipi-; called the snow-shoveler from its habit of scraping aside snow with its front hoofs in search of food

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for caribou

If you're weird and running for office there, the best place to start seems to be Caribou County.
Who Voted For Idaho's Weirdo Candidates For Governor?|Ben Jacobs|May 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Caribou antlers protrude from the wood paneling on the walls with hollow gift-wrapped presents dangling from the dried bone.
Half of This Bar Is in Slovenia, the Other Half Is in Croatia|Jeff Campagna|January 6, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I sent him some caribou jerky from Alaska to help keep up his strength on the Senate floor.
Nostalgia Act: The Great Sarah Palin Revival Tour of 2013|Nick Gillespie|June 18, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Caribou Island: A Novel The acclaimed author of the short-story collection Legends of a Suicide returns with his debut novel.
This Week's Hot Reads|The Daily Beast|January 4, 2011|DAILY BEAST

With the disappearance of the caribou the partners began setting rabbit snares to save their meat and flour.
The Whelps of the Wolf|George Marsh
He spread the caribou skin and one of the blankets on the floor and rolled John Darling on to them.
The Harbor Master|Theodore Goodridge Roberts
The caribou are moving east, and I'm going ahead to pick out a location.
Smoke Bellew|Jack London
The earth floor of the tepee was covered with deer and caribou skins, and opposite him there was another bunk.
The Grizzly King|James Oliver Curwood
In the afternoon they returned to what was left of the caribou doe on the lake.
Kazan|James Oliver Curwood

British Dictionary definitions for caribou

caribou

/ (ˈkærɪˌbuː) /

noun plural -bou or -bous

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 reindeerAlso called (Canadian): tuktu

Word Origin for caribou

C18: from Canadian French, of Algonquian origin; compare Micmac khalibu literally: scratcher

Caribou

/ (ˈkærɪˌbuː) /

noun

Canadian a mixed drink containing wine and grain alcohol

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for caribou

caribou

also cariboo, 1660s, from Canadian French caribou, from Micmac (Algonquian) kaleboo or a related Algonquian name, literally "pawer, scratcher," from its kicking snow aside to feed on moss and grass.