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

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Forestry wallpaper lines the halls, with light fixtures featuring silhouettes of animals such as bears and caribou. —

Molly Mcvety, USA TODAY, 11 Feb. 2023 The coastal plain was filled with migratory birds and caribou. —

Tyler Freel, Outdoor Life, 21 Dec. 2020 The intent, again, was to increase populations of hooved animals for hunters’ benefit, because bears sometimes predate on young moose and caribou. —

National Geographic, 7 Aug. 2020 The community forgot the techniques of hunting caribou or making kayaks! —

Razib Khan, Discover Magazine, 21 June 2011 The estimate dropped from 259,000 caribou in 2017 to 244,000 in 2019 and to 188,000 in 2021. —

Alena Naiden, Anchorage Daily News, 16 Dec. 2022 The Western Arctic Caribou Herd, one of the biggest caribou herds in the world, has been declining over the last five years. —

Alena Naiden, Anchorage Daily News, 5 Jan. 2023 In Canada, Indigenous groups joined forces with scientists, business, and government to triple the number of caribou in a British Columbia herd. —

Erika Page, The Christian Science Monitor, 22 Dec. 2022 Imagine a hunter trying to tell me how to reach his downed caribou. —

John Schandelmeier, Anchorage Daily News, 10 Sep. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'caribou.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.