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

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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

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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

But European bison have "a much more difficult and slightly more aggressive temperament".

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

The 56-year-old Frenchman has taken on the unusual challenge of training European bison to perform things they would not naturally do in the wild.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

"There are two types of bison," Deforges told AFP after a training session with the animals, both two-year-olds with brownish-red coats.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

Today, about 80% of America’s roughly quarter-million bison live on private ranches.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

Note, though, that these weren't the huge herds of bison celebrated in the nineteenth-century West.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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