gnu

UK: /ˈnuː/ US: /nu, nju/ ,(no̅o̅, nyo̅o̅)

Inflections of 'gnu' (n):

gnus

npl (All usages)

gnu

npl (Can be used as a collective plural—e.g. "Gnu were grazing under the trees.")

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2025

gnu /nu, nyu/   n., pl. gnus, (esp. when thought of as a group) gnu. 

1. Mammals either of two stocky, oxlike African antelopes, silvery gray or black.

Also called wildebeest. 

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2025

gnu  (no̅o̅, nyo̅o̅), n., pl. gnus, (esp. collectively) gnu. 

1. Mammals either of two stocky, oxlike antelopes of the genus Connochaetes, the silver-gray, white-bearded C. taurinus of the eastern African plain and the black, white-tailed C. gnou of central South Africa: recently near extinction, the South African gnu is now protected. Also called wildebeest. 

• Khoikhoi, first recorded as t'gnu; probably to be identified with ≠nû black, as applying origin, originally to the black wildebeest
• 1770–80

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

gnu / nuː/ noun (gnus, gnu)

1. either of two sturdy antelopes, Connochaetes taurinus (brindled gnu) or the much rarer C. gnou (white-tailed gnu), inhabiting the savannas of Africa, having an oxlike head and a long tufted tail
   Also called: wildebeest

Etymology: 18th Century: from Xhosa nqu