SINCE 1828

An Encyclopædia Britannica Company

white rhinoceros

noun

variants: or

white rhino

Definition of white rhinoceros

: a rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) of southern and central Africa that is distinguished from the black rhinoceros especially by larger size and by a squared upper lip lacking a protrusion

First Known Use of white rhinoceros

1801

Learn More about white rhinoceros

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about white rhinoceros

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up white rhinoceros? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

WORD OF THE DAY

haphazard

play

marked by lack of plan or order

Words at Play

alt-59721dd897313

The 'Best' Way to Sign Off On An E-mail

Give them your best

Words and Phrases That Come from the Dinner Table

Fill your plate with these surprising food words

ghost-being-disinvited-from-party

'Disinvite' or 'Uninvite'?

A disinvited guest is an uninvited problem

alt-596f730ceb5ae

Words We're Watching: 'Scoby'

Kombucha lovers unite.

Ask the Editors

video-title-words-of-the-year-1066

Words of the Year: 1066

Or, Why Pig Meat is Called 'Pork' and Cow Meat is Called 'Beef'

How Often Is 'Biweekly'?

Don't get us started on 'bimonthly'

video-irregardless-grammar-peeve-blend-of-the-synonyms-irrespective-and-regardless

Irregardless

It is in fact a real word (but that doesn't mean you should use it).

video-moose-goose-weird-plurals

Weird Plurals

One goose, two geese. One moose, two... moose. What's up with that?

Word Games

The Emoji Quiz

Think you’re an emoji 👓 expert? Let’s see 🤔

Take the quiz

A Game of Thrones Word Quiz

In the Game of Thrones quiz, you learn some new vocabulary. (It’s quite safe, really. You will not die.)

Take the quiz

Spell It

Can you spell these 10 commonly misspelled words?

Take the quiz

SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® Sprint

SCRABBLE® fans, sharpen your skills!

Play the game