cow
1 Americannoun
-
cows,
plural
-
kine
plural (Archaic)
-
the mature female of a bovine animal, especially of the genus Bos.
-
the female of certain other mammals, as elephants, seals, and whales.
-
Informal. a domestic bovine of either sex and any age.
-
Slang: Disparaging and Offensive.
-
a contemptible woman, especially one who is fat, stupid, lazy, etc.
-
a woman who has a large number of children or is frequently pregnant.
-
idioms
-
have a cow, to become very angry or upset; throw a fit.
My mom will have a cow when she hears I'm moving.
-
till / until the cows come home, for a long time; forever.
You can keep arguing till the cows come home, but I won't change my mind.
verb (used with object)
-
cows,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cowed,
past participle, past
-
cowing
present participle
noun
-
the mature female of any species of cattle, esp domesticated cattle
-
the mature female of various other mammals, such as the elephant, whale, and seal
-
(not in technical use) any domestic species of cattle
-
informal a disagreeable woman
-
slang something objectionable (esp in the phrase a fair cow )
-
informal for a very long time; effectively for ever
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
cowsimple
-
cowssimple
-
have cowedperfect
-
has cowedperfect
-
am cowingprogressive
-
are cowingprogressive
-
is cowingprogressive
-
have been cowingperfect progressive
-
has been cowingperfect progressive
Past
-
cowedsimple
-
had cowedperfect
-
was cowingprogressive
-
were cowingprogressive
-
had been cowingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cow1
First recorded before 900; Middle English cou, cu, Old English cuu, cū; cognate with German Kuh, Dutch koe, Old Norse kȳr, Sanskrit gáuḥ “ox, cow,” Latin bōs “ox, cow,” Greek boûs “ox, cow”; cf. bovine, gaur
Origin of cow2
First recorded in 1610–20; perhaps from Old Norse kūga “to oppress, cow”; compare Norwegian kue “to cow”
Explanation
If it lives on a farm, makes a mooing sound, and produces milk, it is probably a cow. Most people would immediately identify a cow, the large, cud-chewing female of what is known as "cattle." Cows are typically domesticated farm animals, though the females of wilder bovine relatives are also called cows. The verb form of cow, "to frighten or subdue," comes from the docile nature of most cows — they are fairly easy to intimidate, or easily cowed. The Old English root is cu, from the Indo-European gwous, which might have developed from the sound that cows make.
Vocabulary lists containing cow
A Vocabulary Bestiary: Animals That Behave as Verbs
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Amazing Animals, List 1
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Amazing Animals, A-Z
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
"It's one of those things where you test it and, holy cow, it works and you've discovered something new."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 13, 2026
When the cow died, Granma published her obituary on its front page, and a marble statue of her was erected.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
“I want you all to know that Bobby Kennedy…personally ran over the cow in his car.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
His cash cow: Mario Moreno, better known as Cantinflas, the improvisational comic genius sometimes called the “Mexican Charlie Chaplin.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 14, 2026
It smelled suspiciously of cow barn, too, although the children were too polite to mention it.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
"We moved our cows, and opened up all our fences to give them access," said the 54-year-old.
From Barron's ● Aug. 16, 2026
The iconic tule elk, some of which were fenced in on the northern part of the peninsula to keep them from competing for grassland with cows, were dying off.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
They’re paying more than $200 a person for semiprivate tours of the Colosseum, visiting Scottish farms where they can brush Highland cows and taking perfume-making classes in Paris.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
The Daily Star leads with a picture of cows running over dry grass - "forget Clint Eastwood and Spaghetti Westerns", it writes.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
They ran roughshod over the whole county—tearing down fences so the cows would get loose, helping themselves to everybody’s crops, and stealing the storekeeper blind.
From "The Seven Wonders of Sassafras Springs" by Betty G. Birney
The crowd expects his office to be bucolic and full of ewes and kine.
From Time Magazine Archive
Many a notable came to see the thousands of sleek porkers, fuzzy sheep, velvety kine, clucking fowl.
From Time Magazine Archive
He gazed with placid satisfaction out of his car window at the Argentine's horizon-filling wheat ranches and pampas, at her myriad herds of kine and mutton.
From Time Magazine Archive
In that time, the unhappy custodians of the Tate have willy-nilly acquired tons and acres of lowing kine, rearing horses, languorous ladies, idyllic landscapes and storm-beset ships-of-the-line.
From Time Magazine Archive
Now give those kine a wide berth, keep your thoughts intent upon your course for home, and hard seafaring brings you all to Ithaka.
From "The Odyssey" by Homer
But O’Donnell has refused to be cowed by the president’s bullying for nearly 20 years.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
But feminists should not be cowed — and not just because this case, a version of which was already litigated in Carroll’s favor, is likely to crumble in court.
From Salon ● May 29, 2026
Of course some of us wept and raged when he once again had to flee some bigger monkey that he had clearly annoyed, but while Punch was certainly cowed, he was never broken.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 20, 2026
Pertsovsky says the railway company won’t be cowed by Russia’s attacks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 28, 2025
Selyse Baratheon would take to these three better than she had to Val, he suspected; they were younger and considerably more cowed.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
“To have the same effect of cowing the Taiwan population, Beijing is forced to be more threatening,” said Ja Ian Chong, a political scientist at the National University of Singapore.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2022
According to the The Committee to Protect Journalists, there are few effective barriers to prevent autocratic governments from using sophisticated surveillance technology to attempt cowing or silencing a free press.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 19, 2021
“Master Class” showcased Zoe Caldwell as Callas recalling personal sacrifices and artistic triumphs, and cowing the audience with bromides.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 24, 2020
Some faculty members have criticized the statement as cowing to the legislature and not sticking up for faculty.
From Slate ● Jun. 1, 2015
Rather than cowing the students into submission, the arrests stiffened their resolve, and they returned to the streets with renewed conviction.
From "Because They Marched" by Russell Freedman
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.
