Jump To:

• ewe
  ewe

  noun

  a female sheep, especially when fully mature.
• Ewe
  Ewe

  noun

  a member of a people of Togo and Ghana, in western Africa.

ewe

¹ American  

[yoo, yoh] / ju, joʊ /

noun

• ewes
  plural

1. a female sheep, especially when fully mature.

---

Ewe ² American  

[ey-vey, ey-wey] / ˈeɪ veɪ, ˈeɪ weɪ /

noun

1. a member of a people of Togo and Ghana, in western Africa.

2. the Kwa language spoken by the Ewe people.

---

ewe ¹ British  

/ juː /

noun

1. 1. a female sheep

   2. ( as modifier )

      a ewe lamb

---

Ewe ² British  

/ ˈɛwɛ /

noun

1. a member of a Negroid people of W Africa living chiefly in the forests of E Ghana, Togo, and Benin

2. the language of this people, belonging to the Kwa branch of the Niger-Congo family

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• ewes
  plural

Etymology

Origin of ewe

First recorded before 1000; Middle English; Old English ēowu, ēwe; cognate with Old High German ou, ouwi, Dutch ooi, Latin ovis, Greek óïs, oîs, Sanskrit ávi

Explanation

At last, a word that means only one thing. A ewe is a female sheep. That is what a ewe is. Most people have precious few opportunities to use the word ewe. For most of us, it's most valuable as a three-letter word for crossword puzzles. For example: 1-down: a three-letter word meaning female sheep. Answer? Ewe! Also, if you're an avid Scrabble player, ewe is a good word to keep up your sleeve. That "W" can rake in some serious points if you put it on a triple-word space. Finally, punster's will enjoy using ewe in a sentence like “you and I will go see the ewe and him” — which has the two of us going to see some guy and his female sheep.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

ewe Ewe ewes

My brothers were particularly fond of one wooden ewe mounted on wheels, which gave her the jaunty appearance of a sheep who had recently discovered skateboarding.

From Salon ● Aug. 31, 2026

Ben Frankland, 23, who farms in Newby near Stokesley, said he was shocked when the ewe delivered the rare septuplets last week.

From BBC ● May 8, 2026

At the opposite extreme is Scotland's Soay sheep, with just 0.6% full siblings because each ewe mates with multiple rams.

From Science Daily ● Jan. 22, 2026

Having grown up in a family of self-sufficient farmers, Ben was no stranger to being knee deep in manure, or helping his father birth a rotting lamb from inside an ewe.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2025

They wrestled with a pregnant ewe that bleated and tried to jerk her manure-stained hind legs from their hands.

From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko

The three-year-old ewe has now been enlisted for RSABI's Christmas #KeepTalking campaign to combat loneliness and the Scottish Association of Young Farmers Clubs' mental health message Are Ewe OK?.

From BBC ● Dec. 23, 2023

Before you recoil with a resounding "yuck", Bryn insists his Ewe Whey Vodka is very pleasant.

From BBC ● Mar. 11, 2022

His father was a Scottish businessman, and his mother was from Ghana’s Ewe ethnic group.

From Washington Post ● Nov. 12, 2020

One Embraceable Ewe, Jenilee Harrison, has been on “CHiPs” and looks enough like Suzanne Somers that maybe she’ll join the cast of “Three’s Company” someday.

From New York Times ● Feb. 1, 2019

Amari smiled with anticipation, for her mother was known as one of the most talented dancers in the Ewe tribe.

From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper

That also explains why, and how, his devoted rams, lambs and ewes are able to dedicate themselves to solving his murder.

From Salon ● May 17, 2026

Now, just four years on, they are running a successful livestock business with 900 ewes - all despite not having a farm tenancy.

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2024

At the desert lab that day, the wildlife team sampled five bighorn rams and seven ewes.

From Science Magazine ● Apr. 29, 2024

Schubarth then implanted those embryos in his ranch’s ewes.

From Slate ● Mar. 16, 2024

A group of ewes grazed among the rocks as though they couldn’t be bothered to watch.

From "The House of the Scorpion" by Nancy Farmer