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• bighorn
  bighorn

  noun

  a wild sheep, Ovis canadensis, of the Rocky Mountains, with large, curving horns.
• Bighorn
  Bighorn

  noun

  a river flowing from central Wyoming to the Yellowstone River in S Montana. 336 miles (540 km) long.

bighorn

¹ American  

[big-hawrn] / ˈbɪgˌhɔrn /

noun

plural

bighorns,

plural

bighorn

1. a wild sheep, Ovis canadensis, of the Rocky Mountains, with large, curving horns.

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Bighorn ² American  

[big-hawrn] / ˈbɪgˌhɔrn /

noun

1. a river flowing from central Wyoming to the Yellowstone River in S Montana. 336 miles (540 km) long.

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bighorn British  

/ ˈbɪɡˌhɔːn /

noun

1. a large wild sheep, Ovis canadensis , inhabiting mountainous regions in North America and NE Asia: family Bovidae , order Artiodactyla . The male has massive curved horns, and the species is well adapted for climbing and leaping

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Etymology

Origin of bighorn

An Americanism dating back to 1775–85; big ¹ + horn

Example Sentences

Conservationists and policy makers are cooperating to build the crossings, which will allow mountain lions, bighorn sheep and black bears to safely move about their environment.

From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2026

The bighorn herd that straddles the frontier will be severed.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 1, 2026

Conservation groups say the measures are welcome, but not sufficient — that bighorn, and other animals, will still suffer.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 1, 2026

Officials have said it is too costly — and dangerous to bighorn sheep — to repair, although there have been recent discussions about its reopening.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 29, 2025

That problem also derailed domestication of North American bighorn sheep, which belong to the same genus as Asiatic mouflon sheep, ancestor of our domestic sheep.

From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond