jerboa

noun

jer·​boa jər-ˈbō-ə How to pronounce jerboa (audio)
jer-
: any of several social nocturnal jumping rodents (family Dipodidae) of arid parts of Asia and northern Africa having a long tail and long hind legs

Examples of jerboa in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Life Story takes a look at the infancy, the first steps of many animals, including the Long-eared jerboa, a species never before captured on camera. Robert English, EW.com, 4 Oct. 2022 Cooper’s jerboa project could easily turn out to need mice homozygous for 10 or more genes. Quanta Magazine, 27 Aug. 2019

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Arabic yarbūʽ

First Known Use

1662, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of jerboa was in 1662

Dictionary Entries Near jerboa

Cite this Entry

“Jerboa.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jerboa. Accessed 30 Dec. 2024.

Kids Definition

jerboa

noun
jer·​boa jər-ˈbō-ə How to pronounce jerboa (audio)
: any of several social jumping rodents of dry regions of Asia and northern Africa with long hind legs and a long tail that are active at night

More from Merriam-Webster on jerboa

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!