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.
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
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.
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
Short for oxygen
From the Medieval Latin word Oxonia
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Horse enemies are the Rat and the Ox.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026
Fellow Springboks Malcolm Marx and Ox Nche are also up for the award, with Rassie Erasmus' side topping the world rankings after an impressive year.
From BBC • Nov. 18, 2025
Asenathi Ntlabakanye has replaced injured prop Ox Nche in the South Africa squad touring Europe, SA Rugby said in a statement on Sunday.
From Barron's • Nov. 2, 2025
It also works like magic with salty, spicy, umami flavors, like those of acclaimed Lao restaurant Taurus Ox in Seattle.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 2, 2024
He’d been dreaming of a fancy ceremony for the Most Attractive Musk Ox Award, and just as he was about to receive the first place statuette, Duane came barging onstage.
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
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.
