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rhinoceros Definition

rhi·noc·eros (rī näsər əs)

noun pl. -·oses or -·os

any of a family (Rhinocerotidae) of large, heavy, thick-skinned, plant-eating, perissodactylous mammals of tropical Africa and Asia, with one or two upright horns on the snout

Etymology: ME rinoceros < L rhinoceros < Gr rhinokerōs, lit., nose-horned < rhis (see rhino-) + keras, horn

rhinoceros Related Forms
rhi·noc′·er·otic (-ätik) adjective
rhinoceros Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • include: Report on a brief survey of the wildlife resources of Nepal, including the rhinoceros.
  • see: I have never seen a rhinoceros or kangaroo on the A9.
  • charge: What would you do if faced by a charging rhinoceros, Mr. G__ ?
  • live: There are 5 types of living rhinoceroses - 2 in Africa and 3 in south Asia.
  • do: The Politics Companion by Editor Daisy Sampson Normal Price £ 9.99 In which country did a rhinoceros win an election?
  • have: In place of a dead boy we have a rhinoceros.

Adjective modifier

  • one-horned: Atop an elephant in the jungle, go in search of the elusive Royal Bengal tiger and the one-horned rhinoceros.
  • Sumatran: Asian elephant, Sumatran rhinoceros, orangutan, and tiger populations are all declining because palm oil plantations are encroaching on their habitats.
  • wooly: This deposit covers large areas of the Downs and coastal plain, and occasionally yields remains of mammoth and wooly rhinoceros.
  • Indian: The other differential feature is the neck fold: in the great Indian rhinoceros it does not continue across the back.
  • black: The crater is home to enormous quantities of wild game and birds, including the rare black rhinoceros.
  • white: Africa's white rhinoceros also appears stable at much higher numbers than the black rhino.

Modifies a noun

  • horn: By the Tang dynasty, rhinoceros horn cups were given to scholars who were successful in their examinations.
  • beetle: Rhinoceros beetles can grow to well over 4 inches in length.
  • population: In the past 30 years, poaching has reduced Kenya's black rhinoceros population from 20,000 to a mere 400.
  • hornbill: We returned at dusk and watched a magnificent rhinoceros hornbill fly in to roost.
  • sanctuary: Rhinoceros sanctuary proposed Plans are being prepared to set up a sanctuary for rhinoceros with the financial support of the American Ford Foundation.
  • today: One recalls Auden's lines " The mouse you banished yesterday / Is an enraged rhinoceros today.
rhinoceros Quotes

For an actress to be a success she must have the face of Venus, the brains of Minerva, the grace of Terpsichore, thememoryof Macaulay, thefigure of Juno, and thehide of a rhinoceros.

—Barrymore, Ethel