hippo
noun
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hippo
1 American
[hip-oh]
/ ˈhɪp oʊ /
noun
Informal.
hippos
plural
Hippo
2
American
[hip-oh]
/ ˈhɪp oʊ /
noun
hippo-
3
American
hippo
British
/ ˈhɪpəʊ /
noun
-
short for hippopotamus
-
an armoured police car
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of hippo1
By shortening
Origin of hippo-3
< Greek: combining form of híppos; cognate with Latin equus, Old Irish ech, Old English eoh, Sanskrit aśvas, Lithuanian ašvà
Explanation
A hippo is a very large African mammal that lives both in and out of the water. Adult hippos can weigh well over 3,000 pounds. Hippos are the third-largest land mammals (after elephants and rhinos), and of the three, they are by far the most aggressive and territorial. These gray, hairless, barrel-shaped animals resemble enormous pigs, but they're more closely related to whales and dolphins. Hippo is shorthand for hippopotamus, a word that derives from the Greek ho hippos potamios, "the horse of the river."
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:
In October 2025, the wildlife park welcomed Haggis the pygmy hippo, who now has a large social media following.
From BBC ● May 5, 2026
Sotheby’s expected its Lalanne hippo copper bar cart to sell for up to $10 million last month.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
Goat, hippo and duck-shaped hot air balloons floated in clear blue skies over war-ravaged Myanmar this week in a rare opportunity for escapism.
From Barron's ● Nov. 1, 2025
"Therefore, we should re-analyze other continental European hippo fossils traditionally attributed to the last interglacial period."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 26, 2025
The villagers ate a lot of fish, of course, and hippo and crocodile meat as well.
From "A Long Walk to Water" by Linda Sue Park
In northeastern Annaba -- formerly the ancient Roman city of Hippo -- Leo will visit vestiges of the city's historical past, as well as a reception centre run by Catholic nuns for impoverished elderly people.
From Barron's ● Apr. 14, 2026
She has also conducted workshops and sold merchandise — from art prints to T-shirts to washi tape — at such spots as Leanna Lin’s Wonderland, Popkiller and Pygmy Hippo Shoppe.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 25, 2026
In December, he expressed his desire to visit the continent, citing Algeria, the birthplace of St Augustine of Hippo, as a potential destination.
From BBC ● Feb. 25, 2026
When Augustine died in 430, the Vandals, a barbarian people who had crossed the Rhine decades earlier and already fought their way through Gaul and Iberia, had reached the gates of Hippo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 19, 2025
St Augustine founded one at his see of Hippo.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 13, Slice 7 "Horticulture" to "Hudson Bay" by Various
Lastly, he was to wind them up by appearing in his favourite character of Mr. William Button, of Tooley Street, in 'the highly novel and laughable hippo- comedietta of The Tailor's Journey to Brentford.'
From Hard Times by Dickens, Charles
The prefix hippo- comes from the Greek word for "horse".
From The Faerie Queene — Volume 01 by Spenser, Edmund
Both are expected to be released when they grow up to join other hippos living in the wild.
From BBC ● May 6, 2026
“The hippos are mimetic. It’s little bit of a reflection of society with dark, absurdist humor,” said Dedo Vabo’s Derek Doublin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 12, 2026
Fossil pollen and remains of grass-eating animals such as hippos indicate that savanna plants dominated the region tens of thousands of years ago, rather than dense forests.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 1, 2026
Judy, the first rabbit to join the city's police force, has proven to her macho colleagues — buffaloes, hippos, and warthogs — that she deserves her place in the investigative department.
From Barron's ● Nov. 25, 2025
They included giant elephant birds, primitive primates called lemurs as big as gorillas, and pygmy hippos.
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.
