ibex

[ ahy-beks ]

/ ˈaɪ bɛks /

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noun, plural i·bex·es, ib·i·ces

[ib-uh-seez, ahy-buh-], /ˈɪb əˌsiz, ˈaɪ bə-/, (especially collectively) i·bex.

any of several wild goats of the genus Capra, inhabiting mountainous regions of Eurasia and North Africa, having long, recurved horns.

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Origin of ibex

Borrowed into English from Latin around 1600–10

Words nearby ibex

Ibero-Maurusian, Ibert, Iberville, Iberville, d', IBEW, ibex, IBF, Ibibio, ibid., ibidem, -ibility

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use ibex in a sentence

Iron age petroglyphs of the animals are etched across their habitat range in central and southern Asia, including one in Kyrgyzstan that appears to show nomads using a tame snow leopard to hunt ibex.
What Is Killing Nepal’s Snow Leopards?|abarronian|July 27, 2022|Outside Online
After years of wearing the Icebreaker Tiki bra, I made the switch to the Ibex Balance Crop bra—a step up in terms of support and technical design.
Stay Cool the Rest of Summer in These Wool Basics|aweinberg|August 24, 2021|Outside Online
I saw several ibex heads nailed up over the doors of houses.
War in the Garden of Eden|Kermit Roosevelt
He peopled the hills with anything they had a mind to slay—thar, ibex, or markhor, and bear by Elisha's allowance.
Kim|Rudyard Kipling

Only after sun-down do the ibex descend, and never, even then, so far as timber-line.
Unexplored Spain|Abel Chapman
At this period the surviving ibex had fallen to a mere handful.
Unexplored Spain|Abel Chapman
At that season (April to May) the ibex are changing their coats.
Unexplored Spain|Abel Chapman

British Dictionary definitions for ibex

ibex

/ (ˈaɪbɛks) /

noun plural ibexes, ibices (ˈɪbɪˌsiːz, ˈaɪ-) or ibex

any of three wild goats, Capra ibex, C. caucasica, or C. pyrenaica, of mountainous regions of Europe, Asia, and North Africa, having large backward-curving horns

Word Origin for ibex

C17: from Latin: chamois

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