ox
noun
the adult castrated male of the genus Bos, used chiefly as a draft animal.
ox
1 American
[oks]
/ ɒks /
noun
-
oxen,
plural
-
oxes
plural
-
the adult castrated male of the genus Bos, used chiefly as a draft animal.
-
any member of the bovine family.
-
Informal. a clumsy, stupid fellow.
ox-
2
American
Chemistry.
Ox.
3
American
abbreviation
ox
British
/ ɒks /
noun
-
an adult castrated male of any domesticated species of cattle, esp Bos taurus, used for draught work and meat
-
any bovine mammal, esp any of the domestic cattle
Usage
Plural word for ox The plural form of ox is oxen. This is one of the few remaining irregular nouns whose plural derives directly from its original pluralization in Old English. A similar change is made when pluralizing woman (women), man (men), and child (children). In some rare instances, ox is pluralized in the more conventional fashion as oxes, but this form is often considered incorrect and should be avoided.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of ox1
First recorded before 900; Middle English oxe, Old English oxa; cognate with Old Frisian oxa, Old Saxon, Old High German ohso, Old Norse uxi, oxi; akin to Welsh ych
Origin of ox-2
Short for oxygen
Origin of Ox.3
From the Medieval Latin word Oxonia
Vocabulary lists containing ox
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:
Everyone we spoke to agreed with that, praising the talented chefs who sent out all sorts of delicious dishes, from braised ox cheek to mackerel to pork loin, day and night.
From BBC ● Oct. 24, 2026
One video showed ox carts transporting artillery pieces.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
"This time of year there is not much to hunt. So we rely on musk ox meat and skin," Kleist says.
From Barron's ● Feb. 10, 2026
One of Giovanni's most notable miracles involved healing an ox with a broken leg.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 2, 2026
Getting the ox to move turned out to be pretty easy.
From "The Boy Who Met a Whale" by Nizrana Farook
Then their places on the trail are taken by ox- and pony carts.
From Across Mongolian Plains A Naturalist's Account of China's 'Great Northwest' by Roy Chapman Andrews
Hollo!" cried Mr. Van Brunt, who was standing under the apple-tree, cutting a piece of wood for the tongue of the ox- cart, which had been broken "I'm glad to see you can run.
From The Wide, Wide World by Susan Warner
The afternoon was already half spent when Mr. Van Brunt's ox- cart was seen returning.
From The Wide, Wide World by Susan Warner
She used to take long rambles with Mr. Van Brunt when business led him to the woods, sometimes riding part of the way on the ox- sled.
From The Wide, Wide World by Susan Warner
One man relates that he and a friend or two were out in a hunting party with an ox- team.
From Abraham Lincoln: a History — Volume 01 by John George Nicolay
In some species the legs are very slender, as the Zebu, Manilla Buffalo, and Domestic Ox. 5th.
From Delineations of the Ox Tribe The Natural History of Bulls, Bisons, and Buffaloes. Exhibiting all the Known Species and the More Remarkable Varieties of the Genus Bos. by George Vasey
The U.S. reciprocated with two musk oxen, Milton and Matilda.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026
A two-hour drive west of Havana, in rural Consolacion del Sur, the picture is much the same for farmer Fidel Maqueira, who spends his nights guarding his oxen against theft.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
In her introduction, she swoops over the poppy fields to free the enslaved oxen forced to build the Yellow Brick Road.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 18, 2025
They put one broken half of Plymouth Rock into the wagon, and the 30 oxen had an easier trip up Cole’s Hill, and they deposited it beside the liberty pole.
From Slate ● Nov. 28, 2024
He couldn’t read the text, but it had lots of illustrations: scythes, different plants, a picture of the sun, a team of oxen pulling a cart.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
With protectionist trade policies, there's a very strong likelihood that there may be more oxes gored than lambs saved.
From New York Times ● Jan. 3, 2017
Partly it’s cultural inertia, but I suspect it also has something to do with the fact that the companies whose oxes are being gored own some of the nation’s tallest soapboxes.
From Forbes ● Jul. 11, 2011
She jumps on the cart and Wilf snaps the reins on his oxes.
From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness
She plowed two oxes, an' if'en yo' has eber been around a steer yo' knows what aggravatin' things dey is.
From Slave Narratives: a Folk History of Slavery in the United States From Interviews with Former Slaves, North Carolina Narratives, Part 1 by Various
But Jerry, who was up in the wagon playing teamster cried, 'I see dem, Mudder; oxes and Mith Lane.'
From Neighbours by Robert J. C. Stead
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