rhinoceros

noun

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rhi·noc·er·os | \ rī-ˈnäs-rəs

, rə-, -ˈnä-sə- \

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

, rə- \

Definition of rhinoceros

: 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

Examples of rhinoceros in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web One scene in the ride shows several people who are holding on to a tree in order to escape the horn of a rhinoceros. — Haley Victory Smith, Washington Examiner, "Disney's Jungle Cruise ride getting redesign following years of racism complaints," 25 Jan. 2021 In 2017, before the nest boxes succeeded in attracting the rhinoceros hornbills, Ravinder began to think about new box designs. — Yao-hua Law, The Atlantic, "Helmeted Hornbills Are Very Picky About Their Nests," 16 Dec. 2020 The intriguing question that is starting to arise in the Alabama-Auburn cycle is this: why does Auburn look so overmatched one year, only to pull a rabbit, a rooster and the occasional rhinoceros out of its hat the next year? — Cecil Hurt, USA TODAY, "No. 1 Alabama needs no magic or Nick Saban to shut down No. 19 Auburn in Iron Bowl," 29 Nov. 2020 When riding atop rhinoceros, giraffes or zebras, oxpeckers look like adorable companions. — Corryn Wetzel, Smithsonian Magazine, "14 Fun Facts About Frightening Animals," 30 Oct. 2020 Some 30,000 years ago, the hulking woolly rhinoceros and its curved, three-foot-long horn inspired ancient humans to streak the limestone walls of Chauvet Cave in southern France with vivid charcoal portraits of the Ice Age beast. — Alex Fox, Smithsonian Magazine, "Climate Change, Not Hunting, May Have Doomed the Woolly Rhinoceros," 13 Aug. 2020 Throughout Asia, various species are beloved and kept as pets, such as rhinoceros and stag beetles. — Douglas Main, National Geographic, "'Murder hornet' mania highlights dangers of fearing insects and spiders," 3 Aug. 2020 Proteins are much hardier and longer-lived than DNA: In just the past 6 months, Cappellini and colleagues have published ancient proteins found in a 1.77-million-year-old rhinoceros and a 1.9-million-year-old primate, Gigantopithecus blacki. — Michael Price, Science | AAAS, "Mysterious human ancestor finds its place in our family tree," 1 Apr. 2020 Last September, the technique was used to properly place a 1.7-million-year-old species of wooly rhinoceros in its family tree, proving that the method could be used to understand ancient animals. — Jason Daley, Smithsonian, "Scientists Now Know Where the Largest Primate to Ever Exist Sits in Primate Family Tree," 14 Nov. 2019

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

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Last Updated

4 Feb 2021

Cite this Entry

“Rhinoceros.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rhinoceros. Accessed 2 Mar. 2021.

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More Definitions for rhinoceros

rhinoceros

noun

English Language Learners Definition of rhinoceros

: a large, heavy animal of Africa and Asia that has thick skin and either one or two large horns on its nose

See the full definition for rhinoceros in the English Language Learners Dictionary

rhinoceros

noun

rhi·noc·er·os | \ rī-ˈnä-sə-rəs

plural rhinoceroses also rhinoceros

Kids Definition of rhinoceros

: a large plant-eating mammal of Africa and Asia with short legs, thick gray to brown skin with little hair, and one or two heavy upright horns on the snout