Meaning & use
audad
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountablebiology
A variant spelling of aoudad, a large wild sheep with long chin hair and curved horns, native to the dry mountains of North Africa.
Grammar: Countable; the usual spelling in books is aoudad, and it is also known as the Barbary sheep.
Patterns
- an audad on the ridge
An audad stood on the rocky ledge, watching the valley.
The zoo keeps a small herd of audad in the desert exhibit.
The audad can survive for long periods with very little water.
nouncountableAmericanspecialist
An animal of this species that was introduced into parts of North America, where it lives wild in dry canyon country.
Grammar: Hunters and wildlife officers in Texas and New Mexico may use this meaning, usually spelled aoudad.
Patterns
- audad population
Audad now roam the canyons of western Texas.
Wildlife officers monitor the audad population in the park.
Hikers sometimes spot an audad on the cliffs at dusk.
Word forms
| plural | audads |
|---|
Common combinations
- wild audad
- A wild audad grazed near the cliff.
- herd of audad
- A herd of audad crossed the stony slope.
- audad horns
- The museum had a display of audad horns.
- audad population
- The audad population has grown in the canyon.
- hunt audad
- Licensed hunters may hunt audad in some areas.
Synonyms and how they differ
- aoudad
- Aoudad is the more common spelling of the same animal and is the form you will usually find in books.
- Barbary sheep
- Barbary sheep is the everyday English name for the animal, while audad is a rarer, more specialist term.
- mouflon
- A mouflon is a different wild sheep from Europe and Asia, and it lacks the audad's long throat mane.
- bighorn
- A bighorn is a wild sheep of North America with different horns and no chin mane.
Word family
- aoudad noun
- the more usual spelling of the same animal
- Barbary sheep noun
- another name for the animal
- sheep noun
- the wider group of animals this one belongs to
Commonly confused: audad or addax?
audad vs addax
An addax is a different North African antelope with spiral horns, not a sheep like the audad.
Practice
An audad is best described as which of the following?
Choose one answer.
An audad is a wild sheep of the North African mountains, also called Barbary sheep. It is not a reptile, a camel or equipment.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “audad”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.