bison
Americannoun
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bison
plural
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Also called American bison, American buffalo. a North American, oxlike ruminant, Bison bison, having a large head and high, humped shoulders: formerly common in North America, its small remaining population in isolated western areas of the U.S. and Canada is now protected.
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Also called wisent. a related animal, Bison bonasus, of Europe, less shaggy and slightly larger than the American bison: now greatly reduced in number.
noun
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Also called: American bison. buffalo. a member of the cattle tribe, Bison bison , formerly widely distributed over the prairies of W North America but now confined to reserves and parks, with a massive head, shaggy forequarters, and a humped back
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Also called: wisent. European bison. a closely related and similar animal, Bison bonasus , formerly widespread in Europe
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of bison
1350–1400; Middle English bisontes (plural) < Latin (nominative singular bisōn ) < Germanic; compare Old High German wisunt, Old English wesend, Old Norse visundr
Explanation
A bison is a large, shaggy, hoofed animal. Bison are mostly native to North America, though there is one species found in Western Europe and Central Asia. The most common type of bison is also called a buffalo, and it's the largest land animal in North America. Bison tend to travel in herds and periodically wallow in dirt to keep themselves cool and free of parasites, and while they're generally slow-moving, they can run as fast as 35 miles per hour when they want to. The word bison is Latin for "wild ox," ultimately from a Slavic or Baltic root meaning "the stinking animal."
Vocabulary lists containing bison
The United States
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Native American History - Introductory
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Amazing Animals, A-Z
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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.
Herd of bison holds back a massive fire in Madrid.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 29, 2026
The new date places the bison slightly later than previous estimates.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 28, 2026
As for smell, a common concern among skeptics, I only found the bison tallow scent noticeably strong.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 27, 2026
Barfield said her team stays away from the bison during mating season, except for when making observations from the safety of a vehicle.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
“The total number of bison, say, seems to have gone down quite a bit, but they wanted to have them available for hunting in the prairie a couple days' journey away.”
From "1491" by Charles C. Mann
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.
