wildebeest

noun wil·de·beest \ ˈwil-də-ˌbēst \

|Updated on: 16 Jul 2018

Definition of wildebeest

plural wildebeests also wildebeest

: either of two large African antelopes (Connochaetes gnou and C. taurinus) with a head like that of an ox, short mane, long tail, and horns in both sexes that curve downward and outward — called also gnu

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Recent Examples of wildebeest from the Web

Once the wildebeests were secured and their babies born, the experiment began in earnest.

— ryan p. smith, Smithsonian, "How Noisy Males Control the Gnu’s Cycle," 11 July 2018
Lenny and Jeffrey, two male eastern white-bearded wildebeests, can now be seen with the zebras in the zoo's African grasslands habitat.

— bryce airgood, Detroit Free Press, "After almost 80 years, the Detroit Zoo finally gets some gnu animals," 7 June 2018
Head out to the canvas tents of the Ubuntu Camp to post up in prime wildebeest territory.

— natalie b. compton, GQ, "5 New Glamping Destinations for People Who Love Nature but Hate Discomfort," 22 Feb. 2018
Everyone wants to write about seeing a cheetah in the wild or feeling the thundering migration of wildebeest.

— spud hilton, SFChronicle.com, "The 7 lessons Anthony Bourdain taught us about travel," 11 June 2018
This historic migration was akin—and perhaps even larger—to the magnanimity of the annual Serengeti wildebeest migration.

— National Geographic, "How Botswana Revived Africa's Largest Mammal Migration," 4 May 2018
Within the crater rim a daily wildlife drama is played out as large herds of zebra and wildebeest graze nearby lions, leopards, elephants and black rhinos.

— julian harrison, Town & Country, "How to Plan a Trip to Africa," 5 Oct. 2016
From wildebeests thundering across the Serengeti plains to monarch butterflies fluttering through North American skies, animal migrations are everywhere, marking the seasons, redistributing vital nutrients, reawakening the senses.

— chicagotribune.com, "Americans take more opioids than any other country — but not because they're in more pain," 26 Mar. 2018
In 1993, Vilane was hired to work in Swaziland’s mountainous Malolotja Nature Reserve, a 44,500-acre wilderness area filled with leopard, zebra, and wildebeest.

— jessica flint, Outside Online, "Meet the First Black Man to Summit Everest," 7 May 2018

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