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

Biden's Interior Department in 2024 had cited risks to caribou and fish populations that dozens of native communities rely on for subsistence. —Reuters, USA Today, 7 Oct. 2025

The order overturns the Biden administration’s 2024 decision blocking a 211-mile road over concerns that mining could threaten caribou and fish vital to dozens of Native subsistence communities. —Reuters, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2025

Reindeer moss, used as a mulch for containerized plants, is a fibrous chartreuse lichen grazed by caribou and reindeer in Arctic lands. —Joshua Siskin, Oc Register, 26 Sep. 2025

The Iñupiat’s biggest concern was the impact Project Chariot would have on their livelihood, primarily hunting caribou and seal, fishing, and collecting bird eggs. —Shoshi Parks, Popular Science, 14 Aug. 2025

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

Rhymes for caribou

• amadou
• avenue
• ballyhoo
• baraboo
• barbecue
• barbeque
• bugaboo
• cabildo
• cockatoo
• detinue
• devalue
• donohue

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