deer

American  

[deer] / dɪər /

noun

PLURAL

deer,

PLURAL

deers

1. any of several ruminants of the family Cervidae, most of the males of which have solid, deciduous antlers.

2. any of the smaller species of this family, as distinguished from the moose, elk, etc.

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deer British  

/ dɪə /

noun

1. any ruminant artiodactyl mammal of the family Cervidae, including reindeer, elk, muntjacs, and roe deer, typically having antlers in the male

2. (in N Canada) another name for caribou

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Etymology

Origin of deer

before 900; Middle English der, Old English dēor beast; akin to Gothic dius beast, Old High German tior

Compare meaning

How does deer compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• reindeer vs. deer
• caribou vs. deer

Example Sentences

Bluetongue virus affects cattle, goats, sheep, deer and camelids such as llamas and alpacas.

From BBC

But she saw potential in the AI animal trend, adding that she suspected the post would perform well as she thought social media users would "be like, oh my God, she's holding a deer".

From BBC

Other hot games are 99 Nights in the Forest, in which players try to survive killer deer and Grow a Garden, which is exactly as it sounds.

From Barron's

To avoid disturbing the sites further, the team relied on radiocarbon dating of clam shells and deer bones that were originally collected some 50 years ago.

From Science Daily

“I was like a deer in the headlights.”

From Los Angeles Times