Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun An omnivorous burrow-dwelling bandicoot (Macrotis lagotis) of arid regions of Australia, having long ears, a long, tapering snout, and strong forelegs with long claws.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun Australian desert
marsupial , with distinctive large ears and approximately the size of arabbit .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun bandicoot with leathery ears like a rabbit
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
Support
Examples
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It's the bilby, which is an endangered marsupial that lives in the desert.
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However a high number of mammal species, 14 percent of the total mammalian fauna, are considered regionally or globally threatened, including the greater bilby (Macrotis lagotis VU), hairy-footed dunnart (Sminthopsis hirtipes), dusky hopping mouse (Notomys fuscus VU), mulgara (Dasycercus cristicauda VU), and kowari.
Simpson desert 2008
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Several mammal species, including bilby (Macrotis lagotis VU), northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus) and golden bandicoot (Isoodon auratus VU), have declined or disappeared altogether from this ecoregion.
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They fill the same ecological niche as the bunny, only the bunny is better at it, and so since the introduction of the bunny to Australia, bilby numbers have dropped alarmingly.
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Twenty two native mammals are found in the park including dingo Canis familiaris dingo, red kangaroo Macropus rufus, common wallaroo M. robustus, marsupial mole Notoryctes typhlops, spinifex hopping mouse Notomys alexis, several bat species including Australian false vampire Marcoderma gigas (V), bilby Macrotis lagotis (E), occasional short nosed echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus and several small marsupials and native rodents.
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Several mammal species, including bilby (Macrotis lagotis VU), northern quoll (Dasyurus hallucatus), pale field-rat (Rattus tunneyi), golden-backed tree-rat, and golden bandicoot have declined, especially in the lower rainfall lowland portions of this ecoregion.
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The park protects important habitat for an isolated population of the vulnerable bilby (Macrotis lagotis).
Mitchell grass downs 2007
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The occasion was a ceremony at the Ipswich Nature Centre to officially name the bilby Jessica after Ms Watson, the Young Australian of the Year.
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Bilby named for solo sailor Jessica Watson THREE rebels met in Ipswich today - larrikin swimmer Dawn Fraser, solo sailor Jessica Watson and a bilby who shouldn't have been born.
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Jessica the bilby surprised staff at the centre because her mother had failed to breed with three partners and was then thought too old to bear young.
uselessness commented on the word bilby
Oh. All this time I thought his name was Bill, and he was just playing off that.
Now I'm starting to doubt he's even a he. I mean, who knows? Bilby is a real word? Whoops.
I actually stumbled across this page via the random word feature, of all things. :-)
November 29, 2007
bilby commented on the word bilby
You know they have this campaign now to make chocolate bilbies for Easter. Because the rabbit is a destructive, introduced pest and the bilby is a native, cuddly, innocent chap. With, erm, big ears ... I swear WeirdNET is spying. Anyway, the bilby is a kind of symbol of environmentalism v capitalism.
Eat me.
November 29, 2007
arcadia commented on the word bilby
And I am pleased to see that the bilby we have all come to know and love is an enviromenalist, with or without the bilby being a true animal.
January 6, 2008
thebighenry commented on the word bilby
2 × trilby ÷ 3
April 24, 2008
sionnach commented on the word bilby
bilbies, not bunnies
July 11, 2008
sionnach commented on the word bilby
Easter Bilby propaganda kit
July 11, 2008
bilby commented on the word bilby
"Tired old Easter Bunny has given his job to Bilby. Easter eggs must be delivered all around Australia on time. But how?
The rabbits will no longer help. Hungry cats and foxes roam Australia, always looking for something to eat.
How will Easter Bilby and his friends get the job done?"
- synoposis of 'Easter Bilby's Secret' by Ali Garnett and Kaye Kessing.
July 11, 2008
sionnach commented on the word bilby
Of course, you can't just have heathen bilbies taking over as spokesmarsupials for the most important Christian holy day.
No worries. Turns out bilby is not only a Catholic already, but has actually been canonized within the church:
July 11, 2008
sionnach commented on the word bilby
Saint Bilby portrait series
July 11, 2008
frindley commented on the word bilby
Hey bilby, do you read The Australian? Lovely article today: "Rescue helps bilbies beat extinction by a whisker", including a very strikingly composed photograph.
Then there's this bit: "Rabbits were thought to compete with marsupials for food and to deprive them of sheltering vegetation. Dr McRae said attempts to eradicate rabbits in the reserve had failed, and a decision was made to leave them be. Surprisingly, the bilbies are doing well and may even be controlling rabbit numbers by eating their young."
October 27, 2008
bilby commented on the word bilby
I try not to read The Australian, I really do.
October 27, 2008
frindley commented on the word bilby
Wise bilby. All the same, the photo accompanying the article was a fine one.
October 28, 2008
bilby commented on the word bilby
He caught my ears in a wonderful light.
October 28, 2008
arcadia commented on the word bilby
Love it!
October 28, 2008
dontcry commented on the word bilby
Yes, fine photo -- and now we know what really happened to Gandalf.
October 28, 2008
chained_bear commented on the word bilby
Wow. That park really is back of Bourke.
I liked this line: "They were breeding unassisted, and this means the plan has worked."
Bilby...?
October 28, 2008
bilby commented on the word bilby
Thattaway!
December 31, 2008
sionnach commented on the word bilby
There once was a red spy named Philby
Who looked like a don in a trilby
His contact down under
Was nicknamed "Brown Thunder"
- a marsupial traitor called Crash Bandicoot.
April 9, 2009
nuxiy commented on the word bilby
"bil" is Norwegian for "car", and "by" is Norwegian for "city". Carcity.
May 17, 2009
bilby commented on the word bilby
Vrrooommm! *beep beep goes bilby and runs over frogapplause*
May 18, 2009
gangerh commented on the word bilby
So Santa bilby is a scarcity?
May 19, 2009
sionnach commented on the word bilby
dagnabbit. gangerh beat me to my modestly clever remark!
May 19, 2009
strev commented on the word bilby
You deserve to have a phaser setting named after you. Bravo!
July 3, 2009
bilby commented on the word bilby
*bows* When I set phasers to bilby, I hope I have them pointed in the right direction :-7
July 3, 2009
Prolagus commented on the word bilby
Dear Abby,
How can I convince bilby to pronounce more of his phrases?
November 18, 2009
frogapplause commented on the word bilby
bilbycakes: Record more phrases, please.
November 18, 2009
ruzuzu commented on the word bilby
Adjective used when describing pygians (or rock doves). See bilbybuns.
January 15, 2010
ruzuzu commented on the word bilby
Until the marsupial's page is free again, I suppose this is all we've got.
By way of ineffectual protest, I'm thinking of starting a Twitter account called @FreeBilby, which I will use to raise awareness of this problem.
Any ideas for what the awareness ribbon should look like?
June 20, 2011
bilby commented on the word bilby
There's a lovely bilby button among the visuals. Does that help?
June 20, 2011
ruzuzu commented on the word bilby
Hm. I wonder what would happen if I were to push this button?
June 20, 2011
ruzuzu commented on the word bilby
Oh! A chocolatey food pellet!
June 20, 2011
ruzuzu commented on the word bilby
"Bilby has been looked up 5,289 times, favorited 0 times, listed 29 times, commented on 31 times, and has a Scrabble score of 12."
June 20, 2011
bilby commented on the word bilby
That chocolatey food pellet might be soylent brown.
June 20, 2011
ruzuzu commented on the word bilby
*pushes button again*
June 20, 2011
ruzuzu commented on the word bilby
These visuals are surprisingly ho-hum, but check out the words that are found in similar contexts.
July 27, 2011
bilby commented on the word bilby
Vasectomy? No wonder the breeding program for my poor endangered species is having little success.
July 27, 2011
bilby commented on the word bilby
It's funny that the Examples section has hauled up something from Errata. A bit like the process of making soylent green.
July 27, 2011
Prolagus commented on the word bilby
Hee hee! Also, sigh.
July 27, 2011
ruzuzu commented on the word bilby
Hm. Looks like victual is listed there, too. I guess that makes sense.
July 27, 2011
sionnach commented on the word bilby
So what's up, leather-ears?
Singed,
Renard.
October 9, 2011
bilby commented on the word bilby
Oh no, you've fallen asleep with your tail in the embers again Mr Firefox!
October 9, 2011
ruzuzu commented on the word bilby
I was just looking up type, which led me to antitype, which then led me to antitrope, which I was going to add to my list of tropes, but then I saw that someone had already added it.
Thank you, bilby.
November 7, 2011
hernesheir commented on the word bilby
Are you there, bilby?
November 16, 2011
bilby commented on the word bilby
Sort of.
November 17, 2011
sionnach commented on the word bilby
Hi, leather-ears! Greetings from San Francisco, aka Baghdad by the Bay.
November 17, 2011
bilby commented on the word bilby
Hi Reynard. Why aren't you still ensconced in Paris, quaffing bon mots and swigging spirit of staircase? Oh, hang on, I've just heard about the lure of BART's cleaner vinyl seats.
November 18, 2011
bilby commented on the word bilby
“I be having to put Bilby on music. He just don't be knowing. Its okay tho. He's still cool.”
@XXIXCII
November 18, 2011
bilby commented on the word bilby
I be don't liking tweets much. But some-some dem entertaining, mon.
November 18, 2011
ruzuzu commented on the word bilby
“"pulling a Bilby" refers to ignorant acts such as forgetting where your car is”
@BilbyMane
November 18, 2011
hernesheir commented on the word bilby
We'd all enjoy another of your apt clerihews. Perhaps this list could provide a modicum of inspiration.
November 22, 2011
hernesheir commented on the word bilby
Same context: rôle, contretemps, vasectomy.
December 30, 2011
marky commented on the word bilby
the dreaded easter bilby http://theresurgence.com/files/2009/04/09/20090409_why-the-easter-bunny_poster_img.jpg
March 31, 2013
alexz commented on the word bilby
Bilby gets a royal visit. http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-27093429
April 20, 2014
bilby commented on the word bilby
Sunday haiku:
aargh oh no the shame
that inbred little fuckhead
threw me out of the pram
April 20, 2014
qms commented on the word bilby
Bilby?
A Hobbit, I thought, or maybe a hat,
Bilby symbolized something like that.
Conceive my surprise!
He opts for the guise
Of a big-eared marsupial rat.
April 21, 2014
alexz commented on the word bilby
I wonder who will adopt this word.
January 8, 2015
bilby commented on the word bilby
*waits*
January 8, 2015
ruzuzu commented on the word bilby
I'll note that wombat has already been adopted.
January 12, 2015
vendingmachine commented on the word bilby
Is daylight savings time April 5, 2015 for you?
March 8, 2015
bilby commented on the word bilby
Despite the dogpiling, no-one has adopted me :-...
April 27, 2016
alexz commented on the word bilby
We'd need Christies auction house to handle the huge sum of money involved in the adoption price.
April 28, 2016
alexz commented on the word bilby
13k lookups
April 24, 2017
bilby commented on the word bilby
Most of those were probably me.
April 24, 2017
bilby commented on the word bilby
I got adopted!
April 14, 2018
bilby commented on the word bilby
Who is the Royal Secret Society of Bilbies and what are you going to do with me?
April 14, 2018
alexz commented on the word bilby
I hear there's a secret button pressing ceremony involving a food pellet.
April 15, 2018
bilby commented on the word bilby
*presses button*
April 15, 2018
alexz commented on the word bilby
A fez wearing person in a tiny little car shows up and drops off a food pellet.
April 16, 2018
bilbyzcat commented on the word bilby
*licks paw whilst eyeing food pellet from the other side of the room*
April 16, 2018
bilby commented on the word bilby
FOOD PELLET PARTY!
April 16, 2018
ruzuzu commented on the word bilby
*presses button*
April 16, 2018
ruzuzu commented on the word bilby
Ooh! A delicious food pellet!
What a great party.
April 16, 2018
bilby commented on the word bilby
I happen to have here a bucket of pellet hooch I made a while back.
*cheers*
April 16, 2018
vendingmachine commented on the word bilby
Please do not kick or pound me if your pellets don't fall immediately. And don't press my buttons over and over. Be patient and you will receive your due reward.
April 16, 2018
ruzuzu commented on the word bilby
*presses button politely*
April 17, 2018
bilby commented on the word bilby
Dunno, pressing vendingmachine buttons is pretty much a national sport.
April 17, 2018
vendingmachine commented on the word bilby
Among the list of Random Adoptions on Wordnik:
bilby was adopted by Royal Secret Society of Bilbies
July 7, 2018
bilby commented on the word bilby
See aherte.
February 21, 2020
bilby commented on the word bilby
"Stunning, bilby-like animals..." https://www.abc.net.au/news/science/2020-10-01/bilbies,-thylacines,-dugongs-in-arnhem-land-maliwawa-rock-art/12714194?nw=0
October 3, 2020
bilby commented on the word bilby
I have just been adopted. Not sure what this means. Ice cream for dessert? No more workhouse gruel for me!
July 19, 2021
vendingmachine commented on the word bilby
Sticks and stones, bilby. Roasted with caramel, huh? What... no sea salt?
November 25, 2023
bilby commented on the word bilby
Sounds like you're already a bit salty, vendypants!
November 26, 2023
alexz commented on the word bilby
Welcome Back!
November 26, 2023
bilby commented on the word bilby
*bows gracefully, or at least I think so*
November 27, 2023