jerboa

noun

jer·​boa jər-ˈbō-ə How to pronounce jerboa (audio)
jer-
: any of several social nocturnal jumping rodents (family Dipodidae) of arid parts of Asia and northern Africa having a long tail and long hind legs

Examples of jerboa in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Life Story takes a look at the infancy, the first steps of many animals, including the Long-eared jerboa, a species never before captured on camera. Robert English, EW.com, 4 Oct. 2022 Cooper’s jerboa project could easily turn out to need mice homozygous for 10 or more genes. Quanta Magazine, 27 Aug. 2019

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'jerboa.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

New Latin, from Arabic yarbūʽ

First Known Use

1662, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of jerboa was in 1662

Dictionary Entries Near jerboa

Cite this Entry

“Jerboa.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/jerboa. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

jerboa

noun
jer·​boa jər-ˈbō-ə How to pronounce jerboa (audio)
: any of several social jumping rodents of dry regions of Asia and northern Africa with long hind legs and a long tail that are active at night

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