elk

American  

[elk] / ɛlk /

noun

plural

elks,

plural

elk

1. Also called European elk.  the moose, Alces alces.

2. Also called American elk, wapiti.  a large North American deer, Cervus canadensis, the male of which has large, spreading antlers.

3. a pliable leather used for sport shoes, made originally of elk hide but now of calfskin or cowhide tanned and smoked to resemble elk hide.

4. (initial capital letter) a member of a fraternal organization Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks that supports or contributes to various charitable causes.

---

elk British  

/ ɛlk /

noun

1. a large deer, Alces alces, of N Europe and Asia, having large flattened palmate antlers: also occurs in North America, where it is called a moose

2. another name for wapiti

3. a stout pliable waterproof leather made from calfskin or horsehide

---

Etymology

Origin of elk

before 900; Middle English; Old English eolc, eolh; cognate with German Elch ( Old High German el ( a ) ho ), Latin alcēs, Greek álkē

Example Sentences

Mountain lions are more visible in winter as they follow deer and elk to lower elevations, she added.

From Barron's

He’s an avid hunter and also enjoys collecting “sheds,” antlers dropped annually by deer and elk.

From Los Angeles Times

One day the Scot suggests a way the brothers might supplement their income: “I could sell as many elk antlers as I could possibly get my hands on. At a good price too.”

From The Wall Street Journal

We hear “the strangled ungulate blurt” of a distressed elk, “the ruminant crunch” of a grazing sheep.

From The Wall Street Journal

As development elsewhere carves up habitat, Fales said, the public and private lands his cattle graze are increasingly shared by elk, bears, mountain lions and other species.

From Salon