aurochs

American  

[awr-oks] / ˈɔr ɒks /

noun

1. a large, black European wild ox, Bos primigenius: extinct since 1627.

2. (not used scientifically) the European bison.

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aurochs British  

/ ˈɔːrɒks /

noun

1. Also called: urus.  a recently extinct member of the cattle tribe, Bos primigenius, that inhabited forests in N Africa, Europe, and SW Asia. It had long horns and is thought to be one of the ancestors of modern cattle

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• aurochs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of aurochs

1760–70; < German, variant (now obsolete) of Auerochs, Middle High German ūrochse, Old High German ūrohso, equivalent to ūr (cognate with Old English ūr bison) + ohso ox

Example Sentences

Aurochs were once found across Europe before habitat loss and hunting wiped them out in the 17th Century.

From BBC • Aug. 4, 2025

Aurochs roamed most of the European continent as well in Northern Africa and Asia for several hundred thousand years.

From US News • Oct. 13, 2015

Forrest Wickman: Laura, starting at 10 a.m. on Saturday, we will spend 24 hours trapped in a small Times Square theater with ferocious Aurochs, a tiger named Richard Parker, and Anne Hathaway.

From Slate • Feb. 22, 2013

AN Aurochs in blind rage, charging through thick and thin, has had a fascination for me as long as I can remember.

From Chatterbox Stories of Natural History by Anonymous

The Aurochs is the European Bison, and is one of the largest and noblest of the genus.

From Anecdotes of the Habits and Instinct of Animals by Weir, Harrison