hippo

¹ American  

[hip-oh] / ˈhɪp oʊ /

noun

Informal.

plural

hippos

1. hippopotamus.

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Hippo ² American  

[hip-oh] / ˈhɪp oʊ /

noun

1. Hippo Regius.

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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 ).

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hippo British  

/ ˈhɪpəʊ /

noun

1. short for hippopotamus

2. an armoured police car

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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

Explanation

A hippo is a very large African mammal that lives both in and out of the water. Adult hippos can weigh well over 3,000 pounds. Hippos are the third-largest land mammals (after elephants and rhinos), and of the three, they are by far the most aggressive and territorial. These gray, hairless, barrel-shaped animals resemble enormous pigs, but they're more closely related to whales and dolphins. Hippo is shorthand for hippopotamus, a word that derives from the Greek ho hippos potamios, "the horse of the river."

Example Sentences

Sotheby’s expected its Lalanne hippo copper bar cart to sell for up to $10 million last month.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 17, 2025

Goat, hippo and duck-shaped hot air balloons floated in clear blue skies over war-ravaged Myanmar this week in a rare opportunity for escapism.

From Barron's • Nov. 1, 2025

"Therefore, we should re-analyze other continental European hippo fossils traditionally attributed to the last interglacial period."

From Science Daily • Oct. 26, 2025

They are typically created to capitalise on social media trends or viral memes - such as for internet-famous pygmy hippo Moo Deng.

From BBC • Jul. 14, 2025

The villagers ate a lot of fish, of course, and hippo and crocodile meat as well.

From "A Long Walk to Water" by Linda Sue Park