What does "kangaroo" mean?

1. (the animal) a large Australian animal with a long tail and strong back legs that it uses for jumping. 2. (a hooded jacket) a warm jacket with a hood and one large pocket on the front. 3. (skin-to-skin childcare) to hold a small or premature baby against your bare skin to keep them warm and healthy. 4. (unstable financial market) used to describe a stock market where prices jump up and down very quickly and unpredictably.

How do you use "kangaroo"?

often used as 'to kangaroo' or in the phrase 'kangarooing'

kangaroo

n. · v. · adj.

US //ˌkæŋɡɝˈu// UK //kˈæŋɡɐɹˌuː// kan·ga·roo

1 the animal (n.)
A1 Beginner

a large Australian animal with a long tail and strong back legs that it uses for jumping.

a large marsupial of the family Macropodidae, native to Australia, characterized by powerful hind legs and a long, muscular tail used for balance while hopping.

Example

The kangaroo carried its baby in its pouch while hopping across the field.

Example

Ecologists observed the kangaroo population near the watering hole, noting how the animals used their powerful tails to stabilize themselves while grazing.
- marsupial
- macropod
2 a hooded jacket (n.)
B2 Upper Intermediate Dialect American English

a warm jacket with a hood and one large pocket on the front.

a hooded sweatshirt or fleece jacket featuring a single large frontal pocket, often referred to as a kangaroo pocket.

Example

It was getting cold outside, so he pulled on his kangaroo and headed to the park.

Example

In colder regions, the fleece kangaroo remains a staple of casual attire due to its practical front pocket and heat-retaining hood.
- hoodie
- anorak

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3 skin-to-skin childcare (v.)
C1 Advanced Technical Medicine

to hold a small or premature baby against your bare skin to keep them warm and healthy.

to practice kangaroo care, a method of holding a premature infant in skin-to-skin contact with a parent to promote physiological stability.

Example

The nurse showed the new father how to kangaroo his tiny daughter in the hospital.

Example

Medical staff encouraged the parents to kangaroo their newborn for several hours a day to improve the infant's heart rate and oxygen levels.

Usage

often used as 'to kangaroo' or in the phrase 'kangarooing'
- skin to skin
4 unstable financial market (adj.)
C2 Proficiency Technical Finance

used to describe a stock market where prices jump up and down very quickly and unpredictably.

describing a securities market characterized by rapid, erratic price fluctuations that lack a clear upward or downward trend.

Example

Investors were nervous because of the kangaroo market, where prices changed every hour.

Example

The analyst warned that the current kangaroo market was frustrating both bulls and bears, as no consistent trend emerged from the daily volatility.
- stable

Origin

Borrowed from Guugu Yimidhirr gangurru (“eastern grey kangaroo”). (There is a popular myth that the word instead means "I don't know": supposedly, when Europeans asked what the kangaroo was, the Aboriginal Australians' answer meant "I don't know" and Europeans mistook this as the word for the animal. This is not true.)

Word family

Nounkangaroo
Nounroo

Idioms1 entry

01
kangaroo court
A judicial or quasi-judicial proceeding, or a group of people which conducts such proceedings, which is without proper authority, and often acts abusively or decides unjustly.