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hyrax

American  
[hahy-raks] / ˈhaɪ ræks /

noun

  • hyraxes,
    plural
  • hyraces
    plural
  1. any of several species of small mammals of the order Hyracoidea, of Africa and the Mediterranean region, having short legs, ears, and tail, and hooflike nails on the toes.


hyrax British  
/ ˈhaɪræks /

noun

  1. Also called: dassie, rock rabbit. any agile herbivorous mammal of the family Procaviidae and order Hyracoidea, of Africa and SW Asia, such as Procavia capensis ( rock hyrax ). They resemble rodents but have feet with hooflike toes

"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

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms


Etymology

Origin of hyrax

1825–35; < New Latin < Greek hýrax (genitive hýrakos ) shrewmouse


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:

Living in nomadic groups, the men use handmade bows and arrows to hunt Cape buffalo, baboons and the rodent-like hyrax.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 9, 2026

The rock hyrax resembles a large guinea pig and is found throughout Africa and in parts of Asia.

From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2021

I was in South Africa recently, and I visited Table Mountain, home to the rock hyrax, a small thing that looks like a rodent.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 23, 2018

Numerous varieties of bugs and invertebrates have adapted to life here, and ibex, hyrax, wild boars, desert cats, hyenas, jackals, and wolves come to drink from the pools.

From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2013

The hyrax has four toes on the front foot and three on the hind foot, and the feet are flat.

From The Story of Evolution by Joseph McCabe

Similarly, animals closely related to elephants, such as hyraxes, also have internal testicles.

From Scientific American ● Jul. 5, 2023

For a half an hour the Brebners and I followed the eagles on their hunt for hyraxes.

From New York Times ● Apr. 18, 2018

At Mutinda Camp, on day two, I showered under a glacier-fed waterfall, my yelps possibly outdoing the nocturnal rock hyraxes, whose default call sounds like they’re being brutally murdered.

From The Guardian ● Jan. 8, 2018

Anteaters, hedgehoglike animals called tenrecs, and rabbitlike hyraxes are doing fine, but gaurs, sloth bears, Bactrian camels, and bearded pigs are not.

From Science Magazine ● Oct. 18, 2016

The Kenyan naturalists trapped and netted hundreds of birds, rodents, hyraxes, and bats.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston

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