deer
Americannoun
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any of several ruminants of the family Cervidae, most of the males of which have solid, deciduous antlers.
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any of the smaller species of this family, as distinguished from the moose, elk, etc.
noun
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any ruminant artiodactyl mammal of the family Cervidae, including reindeer, elk, muntjacs, and roe deer, typically having antlers in the male
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(in N Canada) another name for caribou
Other Word Forms
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:
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.
Vocabulary lists containing deer
Brown
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Commonly Confused Words, List 3
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Commonly Confused Words, List 6
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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.
Herman Law took out a loan in 2021 from a Delaware-registered company affiliated with Deer Finance, according to a loan notice.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 22, 2025
Deer Finance, a New York City litigation funding firm that connects investors with lawyers, is listed on business records for both companies.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 22, 2025
But the venison market is saturated, warned Peter Windsor of the Irish Deer Society, which works to protect and maintain Ireland's wild deer herds.
From Barron's • Dec. 21, 2025
Deer are not behaving naturally as a result.
From BBC • Dec. 14, 2025
“So is there anything interesting in Deer Hill? Besides potentially living in a horror movie.”
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
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.
