deer

[ deer ]
See synonyms for deer on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural deer, (occasionally) 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.

Origin of deer

1
before 900; Middle English der,Old English dēor beast; akin to Gothic dius beast, Old High German tior

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use deer in a sentence

  • Arrow-head, probably from South America, headed with the point of a deers horn.

    The Evolution of Culture | Augustus Henry Lane-Fox Pitt-Rivers
  • The handles upon these either represented figures like caryatides, or, more commonly, ended in a deers head.

    History of Ancient Art | Franz von Reber
  • I had hardly cut the deers' throats when Bill called out, "This is a dog-on pretty trick that you have played me."

    Fifty Years a Hunter and Trapper | Eldred Nathaniel Woodcock
  • Spotted Deers words kept ringing in his ears: Perhaps I shall never see you again.

    Running Fox | Elmer Russell Gregor
  • When a deers badly wounded, he leaves a trail of red on the snow that even a half-blind man could see, Bluff told him boldly.

British Dictionary definitions for deer

deer

/ (dɪə) /


nounplural deer or deers
  1. any ruminant artiodactyl mammal of the family Cervidae, including reindeer, elk, muntjacs, and roe deer, typically having antlers in the male: Related adjective: cervine

  2. (in N Canada) another name for caribou

Origin of deer

1
Old English dēor beast; related to Old High German tior wild beast, Old Norse dӯr

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012