caribou

noun

car·​i·​bou ˈker-ə-ˌbü 

ˈka-rə-

plural caribou or caribous

: a large gregarious deer (Rangifer tarandus) of Holarctic taiga and tundra that usually has palmate antlers in both sexes

—used especially for one of the New World

called also reindeer

Illustration of caribou

Examples of caribou in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The reports says a new 211-mile road would allow open-pit mines, reduce subsistence access for 66 remote villages, further weaken permafrost, and require thousands of damaging crossings over streams, rivers and wetlands, which could endanger the state's second-largest caribou herd. —Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY, 16 Apr. 2024

Enjoy rare wildlife sightings, including caribou and black bears, and marvel at the Northern Lights dancing across the night sky. —Sandra MacGregor, Forbes, 4 Nov. 2024

Given the post-glacial setting of the area 13,000 years ago, Nash believes that caribou were more likely prevalent than deer, but there is no evidence to be sure. —Joshua Rapp Learn, Discover Magazine, 29 Oct. 2024

Inches, or sometimes several feet, of organic matter remain on the soil even as new trees, moss and lichen, one of the caribou’s favorite foods, grow on top. —Manuela Andreoni, New York Times, 13 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

earlier caribo, borrowed from Micmac qalipu (phonetically ɣalibu, 17th-18th-century *ɣaribu), agentive derivative of qalipi- "shovel snow," going back to proto-Algonquian *maka·lipi-; so called from its habit of scraping aside snow with its front feet in search of food

First Known Use

circa 1665, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

caribou

noun

car·​i·​bou ˈkar-ə-ˌbü 

plural caribou or caribous

: a large animal of the deer family that is found in cold northern regions

—used especially for one of the New World

called also reindeer

Etymology

from Canadian French caribou "caribou," from Micmac (Indigenous language of northeastern Canada) γalipu