calf
1 Americannoun
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calves
plural
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the young of the domestic cow or other bovine animal.
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the young of certain other mammals, as elephants, seals, and whales.
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Informal. an awkward, silly boy or man.
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a mass of ice detached from a glacier, iceberg, or floe.
idioms
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kill the fatted calf, to prepare an elaborate feast in welcome or celebration.
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in calf, (of a cow or other animal having calves) pregnant.
noun
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calves
plural
noun
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the young of cattle, esp domestic cattle
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the young of certain other mammals, such as the buffalo, elephant, giraffe, and whale
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a large piece of floating ice detached from an iceberg, etc
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to celebrate lavishly, esp as a welcome
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another name for calfskin
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of calf1
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English cealf, calf; cognate with Old Saxon kalf, Old Norse kalfr, Old High German kalb, from Germanic kalboz
Origin of calf2
First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English, from Old Norse kalfi
Explanation
The word calf can mean either a baby cow or bull, or the area of the back of your leg between your ankle and knee. Cattle are not the only animals whose babies are called calves. You can use the word to mean a baby whale, baby elephant, camel, bison, elk, giraffe, gnu, hippopotamus, moose, ox, reindeer, rhinoceros, and yak. If a large piece of ice breaks off of a glacier or iceberg, well that's a calf too! If you want to strengthen your calves, doing heel raises while holding a calf is an interesting way to go about it.
Vocabulary lists containing calf
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
We saw two adult whales and a calf inside the lagoon, where they’re extremely rare.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
The encounter, documented by researchers from Griffith University and Sea World Foundation, raises the possibility that humpback whale mothers may experience grief when a calf dies.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
He was also in the squad that won the T20 World Cup in 2022, but missed the end stages of the tournament with a calf problem.
From BBC ● Sep. 22, 2026
Hopeful return: Reliever Shawn Armstrong, who signed a one-year, $5.5 million contract last offseason, has been sidelined since July 24 with a calf strain.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 16, 2026
“Just stay out of my way,” I said, getting awkwardly to my feet, careful not to put too much pressure on my throbbing calf.
From "Glitch" by Laura Martin
In the 1870s, a Pend d’Oreille Indian named Walking Coyote captured a few bison calves from northern Montana.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Accounts described elephants selecting particular plants when they seemed unwell, and mothers reportedly giving medicinal plant material to their calves.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
The observation adds to the small number of documented cases involving deceased calves in baleen whales.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 22, 2026
By the time I reached the top, my shoulders were burning, my calves were screaming and I could no longer say exactly how many steps I’d climbed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
He wore a bulky robe of brown reindeer hide that hung all the way to his calves, and a broad belt of red buckskin.
From "Wolf Brother" by Michelle Paver
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
