giraffe
Americannoun
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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
Bohm usually doesn’t stand out, even at 6-foot-5, 225 pounds, with the nickname Raffe because a teammate thought he resembled a giraffe.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 27, 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
I shrugged, and drew a second giraffe with a dramatic, Z-shaped crook to its neck.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
Patterns resembling Voronoi diagrams can often be seen in nature, including the markings on giraffes.
From Science Daily ● May 14, 2026
Sen. Adam Schiff and California Gov. Gavin Newsom — are rendered as giraffes, turtles, antelopes and other animals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 6, 2026
The proposals on the table attempt to strengthen protections for several shark species, weaken restrictions on trade in giraffes and open the way to limited sales of rhino horn and elephant ivory.
From Barron's ● Nov. 24, 2025
There are giraffes, elephants and dinosaurs, but none is animatronic.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
I once bought her a scarf with giraffes on it for her birthday.
From "The Epic Fail of Arturo Zamora" by Pablo Cartaya
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.
