Meanings
plural velvet hippos
- figurativelyslangA pit bull terrier.
My real life angel is my very own velvet hippo named Angel, and she is magical.
2014, Rebecca Corry, "Dog Moms Making A Difference: Rebecca Corry", American Dog, Winter 2014, page 222 more examples
Velvet Hippo, Silver Shark—those are only a couple of the names that June's fans call her.
2017 August 4, “Pet of the week: June”, in Signal Tribune, page 13“This Velcro dog sounds just about perfect to us and we know there’s a family out there waiting to spend their nights binge-watching Netflix and snuggling with this sweet velvet hippo,” the shelter wrote on Facebook.
2018 March 7, Savannah Brock, “Lovable ‘Velcro dog’ returned to Georgia animal shelter for 'being too nice’”, in KSDK
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
Presumably an allusion to the large size and short coat of pit bull-type dogs or their reputation for aggression and unpredictability.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
velvet hippo. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/velvet%20hippo
“velvet hippo.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/velvet%20hippo. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “velvet hippo,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/velvet%20hippo.
Source: velvet hippo on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.