# hippo

Pronunciation: say "HIP-oh" US /ˈhɪpoʊ/, UK /ˈhɪpəʊ/

## Noun

1. Clipping of hippopotamus. — Clipping of hippopotamus.
   - Simple: Clipping of hippopotamus. A short, casual way to say the animal's name.
   - _A hippo can stay underwater for several minutes at a time._
   - _Tourists snapped photos as the hippo opened its enormous jaws._
2. An insulting nickname for an overweight or obese person. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A cruel, insulting word for a person who is very fat.
   - _He overheard a classmate sneering and calling him a hippo behind his back._
   - _Cruel commenters online branded the actress a hippo after she gained weight._
3. A troop carrier with protective armor that served with the South African Defence Force. *(slang, South Africa)*
   - Simple: A type of armored truck that South Africa's army used to carry soldiers safely.
   - _The convoy of hippos rolled through the township under a tense curfew._
   - _Each hippo could carry a full squad while deflecting blasts from below._
4. An informal name for the Hippopotamus Defence, a flexible chess opening in which a player makes only modest pawn moves and develops both bishops on the flanks. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: A careful way of starting a chess game where you keep your pawns low and hide your stronger pieces behind them.
   - _Black adopted a hippo, content to shuffle pieces behind a wall of pawns until White committed._
   - _Several grandmasters have wheeled out a hippo as a surprise weapon in must-win games._

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/hippo (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).