rhinoceros

noun

rhi·​noc·​er·​os rī-ˈnäs-rəs 

rə-,

-ˈnä-sə-

plural rhinoceroses also rhinoceros or rhinoceri rī-ˈnä-sə-ˌrī 

rə-

: any of a family (Rhinocerotidae) of large heavyset herbivorous perissodactyl mammals of Africa and Asia that have one or two upright keratinous horns on the snout and thick gray to brown skin with little hair

Illustration of rhinoceros

Examples of rhinoceros in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Safari West What To Know The male calf was born on Tuesday to Eesha, a 20-year-old rhinoceros who gave birth to another calf, named Otto, in April 2023. —Marni Rose McFall, MSNBC Newsweek, 25 July 2025

Based on its degree of digestion, woolly rhinoceros meat had been the wolf pups’ final meal — a surprising find, considering the creature’s massive size in comparison to the majority of modern wolf prey. —Sam Walters, Discover Magazine, 11 June 2025

The one-act show, which opens at Foothill College’s Lohman Theatre in Los Altos Hills on Friday, explores what happens to a sleepy town when everyone is turned into a rhinoceros. —Sal Pizarro, Mercury News, 22 May 2025

Visitors can still see Letterman, another rhinoceros who lives at the zoo, in his public-facing habitat in the zoo's Africa Zone. —Killian Baarlaer, The Courier-Journal, 2 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English rinoceros, from Anglo-French, from Latin rhinocerot-, rhinoceros, from Greek rhinokerōt-, rhinokerōs, from rhin- + keras horn — more at horn

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing rhinoceros

• black rhinoceros
• greater one-horned rhinoceros
• Indian rhinoceros
• Javan rhinoceros
• lesser one-horned rhinoceros
• one-horned rhinoceros
• rhinoceros beetle
• white rhinoceros

Kids Definition

rhinoceros

noun

rhi·​noc·​er·​os rī-ˈnäs-(ə-)rəs 

plural rhinoceroses also rhinoceros

: any of various large plant-eating mammals of Africa and Asia that are related to the horse and have a thick skin with little hair, three toes on each foot, and one or two heavy upright horns on the snout

Etymology

Middle English rinoceros "rhinoceros," from Latin rhinocerot-, rhinoceros (same meaning), from Greek rhinokerōt-, rhinokerōs, literally "nose-horned," from rhin-, rhis "nose" and keras "horn"

Word Origin

One of the largest animals found on land today is the thick-skinned rhinoceros. Another of the animal's characteristics, besides large size, is found on its snout. All rhinoceroses have at least one horn, and some have two horns. The English name for this animal with a horn or horns on its snout was borrowed from Latin rhinoceros. The Latin name, in turn, came from the Greek word rhinokerōs, which literally means "nose-horned." This word is made up of the Greek word rhin-, rhis, meaning "nose" and the word keras, meaning "horn."