Illustration of wildebeest
wildebeest
noun
wil·de·beest
ˈwil-də-ˌbēst 
plural wildebeests also wildebeest
: either of two large African antelopes (Connochaetes gnou and C. taurinus) with a head like that of an ox, short mane, long tail, and horns in both sexes that curve downward and outward
called also gnu
Examples of wildebeest in a Sentence
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There, the wildebeests come through first and eat new, softer vegetation, while zebras come later, eating the tougher, older grass.
—
Michael Ray Taylor, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 May 2025
The same goes for the Great Migration, which typically refers to the wildebeest moving in large herds between the Serengeti and Masai Mara.
—Ramsey Qubein, Forbes.com, 6 May 2025
Researchers Lillian Spencer and Eric Scott also studied the ways horse teeth and those of bighorn sheep were worn down differently from different foods, and concluded that their diets were much like those of the wildebeests and zebras of the modern African Serengeti.
—Michael Ray Taylor, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 May 2025
If the narwhal tusk, a tightly spiraling tooth than can grow up to nine feet in length, was not in fact from a unicorn, then perhaps the horn of the southern African wildebeest or gnu was what the ancients meant by a unicorn—never mind that these are actually two-horned.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 5 Apr. 2025
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Michael Ray Taylor, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 May 2025
The same goes for the Great Migration, which typically refers to the wildebeest moving in large herds between the Serengeti and Masai Mara.
—Ramsey Qubein, Forbes.com, 6 May 2025
Researchers Lillian Spencer and Eric Scott also studied the ways horse teeth and those of bighorn sheep were worn down differently from different foods, and concluded that their diets were much like those of the wildebeests and zebras of the modern African Serengeti.
—Michael Ray Taylor, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 May 2025
If the narwhal tusk, a tightly spiraling tooth than can grow up to nine feet in length, was not in fact from a unicorn, then perhaps the horn of the southern African wildebeest or gnu was what the ancients meant by a unicorn—never mind that these are actually two-horned.
—Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 5 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for wildebeest
Cite this Entry
“Wildebeest.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/wildebeest. Accessed 4 Jun. 2025.
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wildebeest
noun
wil·de·beest
ˈwil-də-ˌbēst
plural wildebeest also wildebeest
: either of two large African antelopes with a head like that of an ox, a short mane, a long tail, and horns that curve downward and outward
called also gnu
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