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Spell Bee Word: Hippopotamus


What does hippopotamus mean?

Word: Hippopotamus

Part of Speech: Noun

Meaning: Hippopotamus means a very large, heavy animal from Africa with thick grey skin and a huge mouth. It spends most of the day in rivers and lakes.

Synonyms: hippo

How do you spell hippopotamus?

Syllables: hip - po - pot - a - mus

Tricky part: Only the first p is doubled. Every p after that is single.

Watch out for: hipopotamus, hippoppotamus

Memory tip: Hippo, the short name everyone uses, holds the double p. After that, each p stands alone.

Hippopotamus in a sentence

Example 1: The hippopotamus opened its mouth very wide.

Example 2: A hippopotamus can stay under water for a few minutes.

Example 3: The hippopotamus at the Mysuru zoo loves its pond.

Fun Fact

Hippopotamus comes from two Greek words that together mean river horse.

Practise the CREST Way

Spell-o-Spell

Choose the correctly spelt word:

a) hippopotamis
b) hippopotamous
c) hippopotamus
d) hippopotamos

Show answer

c) hippopotamus. The end sounds like the mus in music and is spelt just that way.

Mingle-Mangle

Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:

pmotahupsipo

a) hippoptoamus
b) hippopotamus
c) hippopotamsu
d) hippopomatus

Show answer

b) hippopotamus. Pick out hippo first, then check the order of what is left.

Word Cookie

Find the extra letter in the word:

hippopottamus

a) p
b) a
c) o
d) t

Show answer

d) t. The pot part has just one t.

Word Cookie

Find the misspelt word in the sentence:

We saw a hippopotomus at the zoo.

a) saw
b) at
c) hippopotomus
d) zoo

Show answer

c) hippopotomus. The vowel just before the m is a, not o.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. Which of these animals is about as heavy as a hippopotamus?

a) a leopard
b) a deer
c) a rhinoceros
d) a zebra

Show answer

c) a rhinoceros

2. What does a hippopotamus mostly eat?

a) meat
b) fish
c) grass
d) insects

Show answer

c) grass

Associated Words

More Class 2 Summer Spell Bee words starting with h: heart, help, hare, hazel, hide, hornbill

More words from this list

mail, pineapple, separate, taxi, worm, bounce, crayon, fluffy

Next steps

How to participate in CREST International Spell Bee

The CREST International Spell Bee (CSB) is conducted in two editions – CREST International Spell Bee - Summer (CSB) and CREST International Spell Bee - Winter (CSBW) – giving students across the globe an opportunity to showcase and enhance their spelling proficiency. Designed for young learners from Senior KG to Class 8, the competition focuses on word-building, pronunciation, and vocabulary enrichment, helping students develop strong linguistic skills.

Steps to Participate:

Step 1: Visit the registration page and complete the registration with your desired subject.

Step 2: After Registration done, do login at www.crestolympiads.com/login.

Step 3: After login, go to dashboard and click on Book slot/Take Exam

Step 4: Schedule your exam date and preferred time.

Step 5: Log in with your credentials on the exam day at the scheduled time and take the exam.

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