Illustration of giraffe
- giraffe 1
plural giraffes
1
or plural giraffe
: a large fleet African ruminant mammal (Giraffa camelopardalis) that is the tallest of living quadrupeds and has a very long neck and a short coat with dark blotches separated by pale lines
2
capitalized
: camelopardalis
Examples of giraffe in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
For example, like giraffes, okapi wield a dark tongue (long enough to clean their own ears) to strip rainforest plants of their fresh leaves.
—
Katie Liu, Discover Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024
The giraffes started galloping around their enclosure like mad.
—Dana Taylor, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2024
Rockbridge County will keep custody of four giraffes, 17 capuchins, 14 tortoises and one skink, among other animals.
—Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2024
Built in 1909 by Charles I. D. Looff, who made the carousel for the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk two years later, Spokane’s merry-go-round offers 54 horses, a giraffe, a tiger and two Chinese dragon chairs and, of course, a brass ring.
—Amber Turpin, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2024
In 1758, the Swedish taxonomist Carl Linnaeus described a single species of giraffe: Giraffa camelopardalis.
—Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2024
The seven giraffes all stopped eating to huddle at the back of their enclosure, swaying with anxiety.
—Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 25 Mar. 2024
The giraffe population in captivity would not feel his absence.
—Manuel Betancourt, Variety, 13 Mar. 2024
The zoo said that a necropsy was performed on the animal, which determined that the young giraffe died after breaking her neck.
—Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 19 Mar. 2024
Katie Liu, Discover Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024
The giraffes started galloping around their enclosure like mad.
—Dana Taylor, USA TODAY, 29 Mar. 2024
Rockbridge County will keep custody of four giraffes, 17 capuchins, 14 tortoises and one skink, among other animals.
—Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 6 Mar. 2024
Built in 1909 by Charles I. D. Looff, who made the carousel for the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk two years later, Spokane’s merry-go-round offers 54 horses, a giraffe, a tiger and two Chinese dragon chairs and, of course, a brass ring.
—Amber Turpin, The Mercury News, 4 Mar. 2024
In 1758, the Swedish taxonomist Carl Linnaeus described a single species of giraffe: Giraffa camelopardalis.
—Carl Zimmer, New York Times, 19 Feb. 2024
The seven giraffes all stopped eating to huddle at the back of their enclosure, swaying with anxiety.
—Jamie L. Lareau, Detroit Free Press, 25 Mar. 2024
The giraffe population in captivity would not feel his absence.
—Manuel Betancourt, Variety, 13 Mar. 2024
The zoo said that a necropsy was performed on the animal, which determined that the young giraffe died after breaking her neck.
—Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 19 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'giraffe.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Giraffe.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/giraffe. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
giraffe
noun
gi·raffe
ˈjə-ˈraf 
plural giraffes or giraffe
: a large swift cud-chewing spotted African mammal with a very long neck that is the tallest of living four-footed animals
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