Illustration of kudu
kudu
noun
ku·du ˈkü-(ˌ)dü 
variants or less commonly koodoo
plural kudu or kudus also koodoo or koodoos
: a large grayish brown African antelope (Tragelaphus strepsiceros) with large annulated spirally twisted horns
also : a related antelope (T. imberbis)
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web In the courtyard, an old man in a blue polo and a rumpled bathing suit was trying to coax a captive kudu—a species of large antelope, with corkscrew horns—into standing with him for a selfie. 
Ben Taub, The New Yorker, 16 May 2022 Hunting with this for steenbuck, blesbuck, warthog, and kudu was akin to grocery shopping with a stick-shift Corvette. Ron Spomer, Outdoor Life, 2 Mar. 2020 African farmers, ranchers and sportsmen have been hunting native impala, oryx, blesbok, warthogs, kudu, wildebeest, waterbuck, and all the rest (even buffalo, lion, and elephant) with medium caliber, medium power cartridges for more than a century. Ron Spomer, Outdoor Life, 13 Jan. 2020 For National Geographic Traveler, he's covered a lot of ground–canoeing the Yukon, hiking Chiapas jungles at night, looking for kudu in Kenya, sizing up camels at UAE markets, and creating itineraries out of David Bowie's bio. Robert Reid, National Geographic, 5 Oct. 2019 The Smithsonian’s National Zoo has announced the birth of one lesser kudu and the death of another. USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2019 Buffalo stand and stare, and spry kudu sprint away from passing safari cars. Nina Strochlic, National Geographic, 30 Sep. 2019 Springbok and kudu are overpopulated in parts of South Africa, so the government grants certain South African tribes a certain number of the animals to cull to help manage the population. Faran Krentcil, Harper's BAZAAR, 13 Sep. 2019 Como’s herd can be viewed daily in the outdoor zebra and kudu exhibit between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Nick Woltman, Twin Cities, 24 July 2019 See More
Ben Taub, The New Yorker, 16 May 2022 Hunting with this for steenbuck, blesbuck, warthog, and kudu was akin to grocery shopping with a stick-shift Corvette. Ron Spomer, Outdoor Life, 2 Mar. 2020 African farmers, ranchers and sportsmen have been hunting native impala, oryx, blesbok, warthogs, kudu, wildebeest, waterbuck, and all the rest (even buffalo, lion, and elephant) with medium caliber, medium power cartridges for more than a century. Ron Spomer, Outdoor Life, 13 Jan. 2020 For National Geographic Traveler, he's covered a lot of ground–canoeing the Yukon, hiking Chiapas jungles at night, looking for kudu in Kenya, sizing up camels at UAE markets, and creating itineraries out of David Bowie's bio. Robert Reid, National Geographic, 5 Oct. 2019 The Smithsonian’s National Zoo has announced the birth of one lesser kudu and the death of another. USA TODAY, 29 Oct. 2019 Buffalo stand and stare, and spry kudu sprint away from passing safari cars. Nina Strochlic, National Geographic, 30 Sep. 2019 Springbok and kudu are overpopulated in parts of South Africa, so the government grants certain South African tribes a certain number of the animals to cull to help manage the population. Faran Krentcil, Harper's BAZAAR, 13 Sep. 2019 Como’s herd can be viewed daily in the outdoor zebra and kudu exhibit between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. Nick Woltman, Twin Cities, 24 July 2019 See More Word History
Etymology
Afrikaans koedoe, from Khoikhoi kudu-b, kudu-s
First Known Use
1777, in the meaning defined above