deer

American  

[deer] / dɪər /

noun

• deer,
  plural
• deers
  plural

1. any of several ruminants of the family Cervidae, most of the males of which have solid, deciduous antlers.

2. any of the smaller species of this family, as distinguished from the moose, elk, etc.

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deer British  

/ dɪə /

noun

1. any ruminant artiodactyl mammal of the family Cervidae, including reindeer, elk, muntjacs, and roe deer, typically having antlers in the male

2. (in N Canada) another name for caribou

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• deer
  plural
• deers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of deer

before 900; Middle English der, Old English dēor beast; akin to Gothic dius beast, Old High German tior

Compare meaning

How does deer compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• reindeer vs. deer
• caribou vs. deer

Explanation

A deer is a four-legged, hoofed animal with antlers. Disney’s Bambi is a famous deer. There are deer all over the world, but American deer are light brown, and are often found nibbling on plants at dusk. The main thing that distinguishes deer from other horned animals, like antelope, is that deer shed their antlers once a year and grow new ones. A female deer, called a "doe," has smaller antlers than the male, or "buck." The Old English root of deer, deor, means "beast" or "animal," and was originally used generally to refer to all four-legged wild animals.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

deer deers

And in its forests and on its grasslands, tule elk and mule deer graze, while bobcats and coyotes hunt for rabbits and mountain beavers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026

Tick populations rely on deer, dogs, mice, and even birds to survive, and pets are often on the front lines of tick infestations.

From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026

A new study published Wednesday in Current Biology found that on Washington state's Olympic Peninsula, vehicle collisions with deer fall by as much as 76 percent in areas highly frequented by mountain lions.

From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026

At a third factory, housed in renovated Cold War-era buildings in a forest populated with deer, women with long painted nails assemble tiny components for igniters, which trigger the guncotton in the propellant.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026

“She’s not a stricken deer anyway,” said Ned, trying to be witty, and succeeding as well as very young gentlemen usually do.

From "Little Women" by Louisa May Alcott

He asked, “Are there dead deers in mythology that are significant?”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 9, 2026

“There are deers behind the El Cariso Park and the L.A. Mission College, Lopez Dam and near another county dam higher up on the Pacoima River wash,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2024

“The people we put in the game, they’re never scared. There’s no deers in the headlights,” Wood said.

From Washington Post ● Apr. 25, 2022

“There were years when we actually had so many deers donated that we ran out of money,” said Bud Thomas, the group’s longtime treasurer.

From New York Times ● Nov. 24, 2021

Mr. Polite said I throwed up so plentiful that didn’t no deers nor rabbits die in the woods for five years after.

From "Elijah of Buxton" by Christopher Paul Curtis