bison

American  

[bahy-suhn, -zuhn] / ˈbaɪ sən, -zən /

noun

bison plural

1. 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.

2. Also called wisent.  a related animal, Bison bonasus, of Europe, less shaggy and slightly larger than the American bison: now greatly reduced in number.

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bison British  

/ ˈbaɪsən /

noun

1. 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

2. Also called: wisent.   European bison.  a closely related and similar animal, Bison bonasus , formerly widespread in Europe

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bisontine
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bison
  plural

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."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bison

"The bison hooked him with his left horn on his hip and tossed him in the air," Mike Macleod, who recorded the incident, told the Cowboy State Daily, a local paper.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

Viral footage of the incident shows a boy and his grandfather snap a picture of the bison as it lies in the grass, before the massive animal jumps to its feet and chases after them.

From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026

Visible tributes to other Miyazaki works are apparent through “Avatar,” perhaps the most obvious being Aapa, Aang’s beloved sky bison, whose appearance is inspired by the adorable Catbus from “My Neighbor Totoro.”

From Salon ● Jul. 8, 2026

Long before that collapse, however, hunters relied on a variety of strategies and locations to harvest bison, sometimes shifting from one site to another.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 11, 2026

Figgins wanted to display a fossil bison in his museum, especially if he could get one of the big varieties that went extinct during the Pleistocene.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann