Kangaroo Definition & Meaning

American

British

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Synonyms kangaroo American [kang-guh-roo] / ˌkæŋ gəˈru /

noun

plural

kangaroos,

plural

kangaroo

1. any herbivorous marsupial of the family Macropodidae, of Australia and adjacent islands, having a small head, short forelimbs, powerful hind legs used for leaping, and a long, thick tail: several species are threatened or endangered.

kangaroo British / ˌkæŋɡəˈruː /

noun

1. any large herbivorous marsupial of the genus Macropus and related genera, of Australia and New Guinea, having large powerful hind legs, used for leaping, and a long thick tail: family Macropodidae See also rat kangaroo tree kangaroo

2. (usually plural) stock exchange an Australian share, esp in mining, land, or a tobacco company

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

verb

1. informal (of a car) to move forward or to cause (a car) to move forward with short sudden jerks, as a result of improper use of the clutch

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

• kangaroo-like adjective
• kangaroolike adjective

Etymology

Origin of kangaroo

First recorded in 1760–70; from Guugu Yimidhirr (an Australian Aboriginal language spoken around Cooktown, northern Queensland) gaŋ-urru, a large black or gray species of kangaroo

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How does kangaroo compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• wallaby vs. kangaroo

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

These small kangaroo relatives are native to Western Australia and have become the country's most frequently translocated mammal due to ongoing conservation programs aimed at protecting the critically endangered species.

From Science Daily

It didn’t help that her husband—who’d known Hoxha when the two men were students together in Paris—was found guilty by a kangaroo court of plotting to overthrow the government.

From The Wall Street Journal

“Think how you’ll grieve for all you’ll leave behind,” she sings to a herd of otters, koalas, flamingos, giraffes, bunnies and kangaroos fleeing Oz for the safety of the Yellow Brick Underground Railroad.

From Los Angeles Times

On plenty of other tours England have played warm-ups until the kangaroos come home and been subsequently hammered in the Tests.

From BBC

Wallabies are primarily found in Australia and nearby islands, and are members of the macropod family of marsupials, along with kangaroos.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.