: any of various herbivorous leaping marsupial mammals (family Macropodidae) of Australia, New Guinea, and adjacent islands with a small head, large ears, long powerful hind legs, a long thick tail used as a support and in balancing, and rather small forelegs not used in locomotion
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The items, which hold deep cultural and spiritual significance to the Larrakia people, consist of 10 glass spearheads and a kangaroo tooth headband worn by a Larrakia elder.—Jessica Gelt, Los Angeles Times, 23 May 2025 An unruly kangaroo that escaped from a private owner's enclosure in Saint Cloud, Florida, on Monday was safely captured and taken to a local wildlife reserve.—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 8 May 2025 The kangaroo smoothly crosses the road and continues hopping on the right side.—Victor Mather, New York Times, 30 Apr. 2025 The half-zip design can be slipped over your head without mussing up your hair and makeup, while a roomy kangaroo pouch is the ideal place to store your phone and even an in-flight snack.—Merrell Readman, Travel + Leisure, 29 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for kangaroo
Word History
Etymology
Guugu Yimidhirr (Australian aboriginal language of northern Queensland) gaŋurru
: any of numerous leaping marsupial mammals of Australia, New Guinea, and adjacent islands that feed on plants and have a small head, long powerful hind legs, a long thick tail used as a support in standing or walking, and in the female a pouch on the abdomen in which the young are carried
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