ewe
noun
a female sheep, especially when fully mature.
ewe
1 American
[yoo, yoh]
/ ju, joʊ /
noun
ewes
plural
Ewe
2
American
[ey-vey, ey-wey]
/ ˈeɪ veɪ, ˈeɪ weɪ /
noun
-
a member of a people of Togo and Ghana, in western Africa.
-
the Kwa language spoken by the Ewe people.
ewe
1
British
/ juː /
noun
Ewe
2
British
/ ˈɛwɛ /
noun
-
a member of a Negroid people of W Africa living chiefly in the forests of E Ghana, Togo, and Benin
-
the language of this people, belonging to the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo family
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ewe
First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English ēowu, ēwe; cognate with Old High German ou, ouwi, Dutch ooi, Latin ovis, Greek óïs, oîs, Sanskrit ávi
Explanation
At last, a word that means only one thing. A ewe is a female sheep. That is what a ewe is. Most people have precious few opportunities to use the word ewe. For most of us, it's most valuable as a three-letter word for crossword puzzles. For example: 1-down: a three-letter word meaning female sheep. Answer? Ewe! Also, if you're an avid Scrabble player, ewe is a good word to keep up your sleeve. That "W" can rake in some serious points if you put it on a triple-word space. Finally, punster's will enjoy using ewe in a sentence like “you and I will go see the ewe and him” — which has the two of us going to see some guy and his female sheep.
Vocabulary lists containing ewe
Back-Words: Palindromes
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Essential Three-Letter Words, Part 4
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Scrabble: Palindrome Words
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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.
Before you recoil with a resounding "yuck", Bryn insists his Ewe Whey Vodka is very pleasant.
From BBC • Mar. 11, 2022
Originally, you could tell the difference between an Ashanti kente and the Ewe kete a mile off.
From BBC • Mar. 23, 2021
One Embraceable Ewe, Jenilee Harrison, has been on “CHiPs” and looks enough like Suzanne Somers that maybe she’ll join the cast of “Three’s Company” someday.
From New York Times • Feb. 1, 2019
A onetime Embraceable Ewe, the nickname given to the Los Angeles Rams cheerleaders, Julie Blatty had roles on TV shows such as “Charlie’s Angels” and “CHiPs.”
From Washington Post • Sep. 29, 2017
“Are you my Besa?” she asked in Ewe.
From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper
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.
