ibex

American  

[ahy-beks] / ˈaɪ bɛks /

noun

plural

ibexes, ibices,

plural

ibex

1. any of several wild goats of the genus Capra, inhabiting mountainous regions of Eurasia and North Africa, having long, recurved horns.

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ibex British  

/ ˈaɪbɛks /

noun

1. any of three wild goats, Capra ibex, C. caucasica, or C. pyrenaica, of mountainous regions of Europe, Asia, and North Africa, having large backward-curving horns

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Etymology

Origin of ibex

Borrowed into English from Latin around 1600–10

Example Sentences

During an early ascent, Lubin Godin found an Alpine ibex resting above a sea of clouds.

From BBC • Oct. 14, 2025

The engravings, which depict animals such as camels, ibex, equids, gazelles, and aurochs, include 130 highly detailed and life-sized figures, some reaching up to 3 meters long and more than 2 meters tall.

From Science Daily • Oct. 11, 2025

Olvera’s other research projects take him out of town, to study mainly chamois in the Pyrenees and Iberian ibex – ungulates, like the wild boar.

From The Guardian • Jul. 30, 2019

A few Neanderthals cooked the ibex they had hunted and the mussels and nuts they had foraged and then, after dinner, made some tools around the fire.

From New York Times • Jan. 11, 2017

“I held it in my hands! I looked at the drawings, page by page. I remember each one: the lakes, the mountains, the ibex, that funny-looking mountain squirrel.”

From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood