antelope

noun

an·​te·​lope ˈan-tə-ˌlōp 

plural antelope or antelopes

1

: any of various ruminant deerlike mammals (family Bovidae) chiefly of Africa and southwest Asia that have a slender lean build and usually horns directed upward and backward

2

: leather from antelope hide

Examples of antelope in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As with all African antelope that thrive, hunting helps control their overpopulation, and since meat cannot be shipped internationally, much of it is given to locals and made available at markets. —Scott Haugen, Outdoor Life, 11 July 2024

Kazakhstan’s saiga antelope, with their charming, trunklike nose, numbered only 21,000 in 2003. —Allison Parshall, Scientific American, 4 July 2024

There was yet more to see—wild horses and noodle-nosed saiga antelope, coves of turquoise water filled with shipwrecks and sea snakes, and camel caravans on the Turkman border. —J.r. Patterson, Condé Nast Traveler, 25 June 2024

The park is home to hundreds of species, including bison, bears, wolves, elk, and antelope. —Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, 9 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, fabulous heraldic beast, probably from Middle French antelop savage animal with sawlike horns, from Medieval Latin anthalopus, from Late Greek antholop-, antholops

First Known Use

1607, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

antelope

noun

an·​te·​lope ˈant-ᵊl-ˌōp 

plural antelope or antelopes

1

: any of various cud-chewing mammals chiefly of Africa and southwest Asia that are related to the goats and oxen and that have a slender lean build and usually horns directed upward and backward

2

: pronghorn