: any of various herbivorous leaping marsupial mammals (family Macropodidae) of Australia, New Guinea, and adjacent islands with a small head, large ears, long powerful hind legs, a long thick tail used as a support and in balancing, and rather small forelegs not used in locomotion
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It’s finished with a half-zip placket, front kangaroo pocket, and side slits.—Jamie Allison Sanders, People.com, 1 May 2025 Claudia McKenzie, an expat living in Australia since 2016, told me in an email interview that seeing kangaroos and wallabies is typical outside cities.—Emese MacZko, Forbes.com, 9 Apr. 2025 While the gray kangaroos used by the scientists aren’t endangered, many other Australian marsupials are—and the researchers hope their findings can help those at-risk species.—Sara Hashemi, Smithsonian Magazine, 7 Feb. 2025 The ticket includes experiences like the Africa Tram, a relaxing tour to spot rhinos and giraffes, and Walkabout Australia to see kangaroos and platypuses.—Kate Murphy, Axios, 29 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for kangaroo
Word History
Etymology
Guugu Yimidhirr (Australian aboriginal language of northern Queensland) gaŋurru
: any of numerous leaping marsupial mammals of Australia, New Guinea, and adjacent islands that feed on plants and have a small head, long powerful hind legs, a long thick tail used as a support in standing or walking, and in the female a pouch on the abdomen in which the young are carried
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