bilby

or bil·bi

[ bil-bee ]

noun

, plural bil·bies.

1. rabbit-eared bandicoot.

bilby

/ ˈbɪlbɪ /

noun

1. a burrowing marsupial of the genus Macrotis of Australia having long pointed ears and grey fur Also calledrabbit bandicootdalgyte

Word History and Origins

Origin of bilby¹

First recorded in 1900–05; from Yuwaalaraay (an Australian Aboriginal language of northern New South Wales) bilbi

Example Sentences

Later, analysis of DNA from the wound confirms Moseby’s suspicions: This bilby, a threatened species, was slain by a domestic cat.

From Science Magazine

In Australia in recent decades, the bilby, the bettong, or rat kangaroo, the brush-tailed possum and other medium-sized mammals all disappeared from the Western Desert.

From New York Times

Flowers in the Australian desert, a wilderness that is the last stronghold of many marsupial species, such as the bilby.

From Nature

After those have been erected, locally extinct mammals like the greater bilby, burrowing bettong, Western quoll, and Western barred bandicoot, will be reintroduced.

From National Geographic

The greater bilby, a ground-dwelling marsupial, handles the heat by going, well, down under.

From National Geographic