Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

hippo

/ˈhɪpoʊ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: 3.13 in modern English

Syllables: hip-po
IPA: /ˈhɪpoʊ/

12

Scrabble Score

5

Letters

2

Syllables

4

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Clipping of hippopotamus.

noun

An armored personnel carrier used by the South African Defence Force.

Slang

noun

An overweight or obese person.

Derogatory; Informal

noun

Hippopotamus Defence.

Informal

noun

Initialism of highest-paid person's opinion.

Example Sentences

"There was an old hippo that had the bad habit of getting out on the bank and roaming at night over the station grounds."
""I've seen them buryin' a chief up the Aruwimi River, and they ate a hippo that must have weighed as much as a tribe.""
"The Eastern Cape village whose dam has been taken over by a hippo will decide next week what happens to the animal."
"A group of hippos is called a bloat."

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈhɪpoʊ/
British English: /ˈhɪpəʊ/

Usage

Inflected Forms

hippos (plural)

Derived Forms

hippolike whippo

Phrases

hippo birdie two ewe hippo fly hippo grass pygmy hippo velvet hippo

Frequently Paired Words

mellow yellow

Synonyms

fatass fatso fatty whale hippopotamus river horse hippopotamus amphibius

Rhymes With

zippo sanfilippo flippo grippo gippo

Questions

How do you pronounce hippo?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈhɪpoʊ/.
What does hippo mean?: Clipping of hippopotamus.

How to pronounce hippo

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