oryx

American  

[awr-iks, ohr-] / ˈɔr ɪks, ˈoʊr- /

noun

• oryxes,
  plural
• oryx
  plural

1. a large antelope of the genus Oryx, with pale fur and long horns: three species are native to arid regions of Africa, and the fourth inhabits Arabia.

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oryx British  

/ ˈɒrɪks /

noun

1. any large African antelope of the genus Oryx, typically having long straight nearly upright horns

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• oryx
  plural
• oryxes
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of oryx

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English orix, from Latin oryx “wild goat, gazelle,” from Greek óryx “iron tool for digging, pickax, gazelle, antelope” (from its sharp horns)

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

oryx oryxes

For example, the scimitar-horned oryx, a light-colored animal with curved horns, had previously been categorized as extinct in the wild but is now endangered.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 11, 2023

Mr. Mays maintained a ranch near Spring Branch, Tex., where he kept exotic animals including zebras, kudus, oryx and bongos.

From Washington Post ● Sep. 15, 2022

The haul included some extinct animals, such as the scimitar oryx, and endangered species like lions, cheetahs and the Bengal tiger.

From BBC ● Apr. 10, 2022

She writes: “Try pronouncing it three times, thus: Oryx oryx oryx. Crake crake crake. You see?”

From New York Times ● Feb. 21, 2022

Should the oryx have adhered to the course they started on, they would soon have been in a dilemma: that of having to choose between passing Hendrick at close quarters and running down the wind.

From Lodges in the Wilderness by W. C. (William Charles) Scully

In the 1990s, he even introduced a herd of scimitar-horned oryxes, as part of a conservation effort to protect the endangered Saharan antelope.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026

And the oryxes, and the Barbary sheep, and the Przewalski’s horses, the giraffes, the dromedary camels and a variety of other hoofed mammals.

From New York Times ● Apr. 4, 2023

Among the representatives of vanishing species there were Mongolian wild horses, scimitar-horned oryxes, maned wolves, red-crowned and white-naped cranes, Bali mynas, black-footed ferrets, clouded leopards, Eld’s deer and cheetahs.

From New York Times ● Jul. 8, 2013

Who, after all, wanted a flat, trackless desert coated with gravel and hospitable only to a few grazing oryxes, hares and gazelles?

From Time Magazine Archive

There are four giraffes, axis deer, oryxes, African crowned cranes and elands that were hand-raised and are, says Hale, "as gentle as a sick pig."

From Time Magazine Archive

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