Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

caribou

/ˈkæɹəbu/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 2.97 in modern English

Syllables
cari-bou
IPA
/ˈkæɹəbu/
11
Scrabble Score
7
Letters
3
Syllables
7
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Any of several North American subspecies Rangifer tarandus of the reindeer.

name

A rural area of Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada.

name

A census-designated place in Plumas County, California, United States.

name

A ghost town in Boulder County, Colorado.

name

A city in Aroostook County, Maine.

name

A township and unincorporated community in Kittson County, Minnesota.

Etymology

Borrowed from Canadian French caribou, from Mi'kmaq qalipu (“caribou”; compare qalipi, “to shovel snow”), from Proto-Algonquian *maka·lipowa (“caribou”, literally “it shovels snow”).

Word Breakdown

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /ˈkæɹəbu/
  • British English: /ˈkærɪbuː/

Inflected Forms

caribous (plural)

Derived Forms

caribouskin carideer

Phrases

barren-ground caribou boreal woodland caribou Caribou County Caribou Eskimo Caribou Inuit Dawson's caribou East Greenland caribou forest caribou

Frequently Paired Words

Caribou County

Synonyms

reindeer greenland caribou rangifer tarandus

Questions

How do you pronounce caribou?
The recorded pronunciation is /ˈkæɹəbu/.
What does caribou mean?
Any of several North American subspecies Rangifer tarandus of the reindeer.
Where does caribou come from?
Borrowed from Canadian French caribou, from Mi'kmaq qalipu (“caribou”; compare qalipi, “to shovel snow”), from Proto-Algonquian *maka·lipowa (“caribou”, literally “it shovels snow”).

How to pronounce caribou

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “caribou”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈkæɹəbu/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “caribou”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “caribou” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.