wildebeest
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of wildebeest
1830–40; < Afrikaans wildebees < Dutch wildebeest, equivalent to wild wild + beest beast
Explanation
A wildebeest is a large, four-legged animal with hooves and curved horns. You might be able to see herds of wildebeests if you travel to the open plains of Africa south of the Sahara desert. Another name for a wildebeest is a gnu. The word wildebeest comes from the Afrikaans wildebees, or "wild beast," while gnu is derived from a name native Africans used for the animal. An antelope relative, the wildebeest is distinctive for its shaggy mane and front-heavy shape, with most of its weight in its forequarters. Wildebeests are migratory, traveling as much as 1000 miles each year.
Vocabulary lists containing wildebeest
Africa - Introductory
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Africa - Middle School
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Africa - High School
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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:
Researchers fear restrictions to wildebeest routes could place the entire migration at risk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 20, 2025
The Maasai Mara wildebeest migration draws thousands of visitors annually and is regarded as one of Kenya's most prized natural heritage assets.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2025
Jamelle, I think you wanted to answer in a more substantive way than my wildebeest comment.
From Slate ● Jul. 2, 2025
Although plants don’t get up and migrate like herds of wildebeest, they do shift over time as climate zones change.
From Salon ● Feb. 17, 2025
The forest was home to many wild beasts, such as antelope, elephant, and wildebeest, as well as hyenas, lions, and leopards, adding even more to the danger.
From "The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind" by William Kamkwamba
The viral footage showed visitors jumping out of safari vehicles, crowding riverbanks and forcing wildebeests into crocodile-infested waters - sparking outage.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2025
The term climate migration has an orderly, almost bucolic ring to it, evoking as it does the age-old seasonal treks of caribou, wildebeests, and other charismatic species.
From Salon ● Jun. 6, 2023
In some regions, such as Tanzania and Kenya in East Africa and Botswana in southern Africa, hunter-gatherers followed the seasonal migrations of large game animals, such as wildebeests and elephants.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
Instead, the wildebeests milled about or rested in acacia shade, and the zebras did a lot of standing around, motionless, like they were trying to remember something they’d just forgotten.
From New York Times ● Apr. 17, 2023
I want to be going away with Brian, like on a plane to the Serengeti to watch the blue wildebeests migrate.
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
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.
