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hippo

1 American  
[hip-oh] / ˈhɪp oʊ /

noun

Informal.

plural

hippos

  1. hippopotamus.

Hippo 2 American  
[hip-oh] / ˈhɪp oʊ /

noun

  1. Hippo Regius.

hippo- 3 American  

  1. a combining form appearing in loanwords from Greek, where it meant “horse” (hippodrome ); on this model, used in the formation of compound words (hippology ).

hippo British  
/ ˈhɪpəʊ /

noun

  1. short for hippopotamus

  2. an armoured police car

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of hippo1

By shortening

Origin of hippo-3

< Greek: combining form of híppos; cognate with Latin equus, Old Irish ech, Old English eoh, Sanskrit aśvas, Lithuanian ašvà

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.