horse

[ hawrs ]

/ hɔrs /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR horse ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural hors·es, (especially collectively) horse.

a large, solid-hoofed, herbivorous quadruped, Equus caballus, domesticated since prehistoric times, bred in a number of varieties, and used for carrying or pulling loads, for riding, and for racing.

a fully mature male animal of this type; stallion.

any of several odd-toed ungulates belonging to the family Equidae, including the horse, zebra, donkey, and ass, having a thick, flat coat with a narrow mane along the back of the neck and bearing the weight on only one functioning digit, the third, which is widened into a round or spade-shaped hoof.

something on which a person rides, sits, or exercises, as if astride the back of such an animal: rocking horse.

Also called trestle. a frame, block, etc., with legs, on which something is mounted or supported.

Gymnastics.

Carpentry. carriage(def 7).

soldiers serving on horseback; cavalry: a thousand horse.

Slang. a man; fellow.

Often horses. Informal. horsepower.

horses, Slang. the power or capacity to accomplish something, as by having enough money, personnel, or expertise: Our small company doesn't have the horses to compete against a giant corporation.

Chess Informal. a knight.

Slang. a crib, translation, or other illicit aid to a student's recitation; trot; pony.

Mining. a mass of rock enclosed within a lode or vein.

Nautical. traveler(def 6b).

Shipbuilding. a mold of a curved frame, especially one used when the complexity of the curves requires laying out at full size.

Slang. heroin.

verb (used with object), horsed, hors·ing.

to provide with a horse or horses.

to set on horseback.

to set or carry on a person's back or on one's own back.

Carpentry. to cut notches for steps into (a carriage beam).

to move with great physical effort or force: It took three men to horse the trunk up the stairs.

Slang.

to make (a person) the target of boisterous jokes.
to perform boisterously, as a part or a scene in a play.

Nautical.

to caulk (a vessel) with a hammer.
to work or haze (a sailor) cruelly or unfairly.

Archaic. to place (someone) on a person's back, in order to be flogged.

verb (used without object), horsed, hors·ing.

to mount or go on a horse.

(of a mare) to be in heat.

Vulgar. to have coitus.

adjective

of, for, or pertaining to a horse or horses: the horse family; a horse blanket.

drawn or powered by a horse or horses.

mounted or serving on horses: horse troops.

unusually large.

Verb Phrases

horse around, Slang. to fool around; indulge in horseplay.

Nearby words

horrors, hors concours, hors d'oeuvre, hors de combat, horsa, horse, horse around, horse balm, horse bean, horse block, horse brass

Idioms

back the wrong horse, to be mistaken in judgment, especially in backing a losing candidate.

beat/flog a dead horse, to attempt to revive a discussion, topic, or idea that has waned, been exhausted, or proved fruitless.

from the horse's mouth, Informal. on good authority; from the original or a trustworthy source: I have it straight from the horse's mouth that the boss is retiring.

hold one's horses, Informal. to check one's impulsiveness; be patient or calm: Hold your horses! I'm almost ready.

horse of another color, something entirely different.Also horse of a different color.

look a gift horse in the mouth, to be critical of a gift.

To horse! Mount your horse! Ride!

Origin of horse

before 900; (noun) Middle English, Old English hors; cognate with Old Norse hross, Dutch ros, German Ross (Middle High German ros, Old High German hros); (v.) Middle English horsen to provide with horses, Old English horsian, derivative of the noun

Related formshorse·less, adjectivehorse·like, adjectiveun·der·horse, verb (used with object), un·der·horsed, un·der·hors·ing.

Can be confusedhoarse horse

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for horses

In place of horses, underclassmen would pull the field pieces around the drill ground.
Stonewall Jackson, VMI’s Most Embattled Professor|S. C. Gwynne|November 29, 2014|DAILY BEAST
You have to have courage and endurance, like certain kinds of horses [laughs].
All Eyes on Anjelica Huston: The Legendary Actress on Love, Abuse, and Jack Nicholson|Alex Suskind|November 10, 2014|DAILY BEAST
But before the national pundits and prognosticators write off the Kentucky contest, they should hold their horses.
Those Alison Lundergan Grimes Obituaries Were Premature—She’s Hanging On|Jonathan Miller|October 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
It surpasses the paintings of horses and rhinoceros from the Chauvet Cave in France by 400 years.
The Oldest Cave Art May Not Be in Europe|Justin Jones|October 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST

On Sark, horses and carts and feudal traditions still remain strong.
The Crazy Medieval Island of Sark|Liza Foreman|October 4, 2014|DAILY BEAST
I turned my eyes in the direction I expected to see the horses.
Snow Shoes and Canoes|William H. G. Kingston
One mile from New Harmony, we were forced to alight from the carriage, as the horses would not draw us up a steep hill.
Travels Through North America, v. 1-2|Berhard Saxe-Weimar Eisenach
Presents of horses, blankets and other valuables were sent to the father of the young woman.
Legends of The Kaw|Carrie de Voe
On a peg just inside the door of the ranchman's old wine shed hung one of the horses' unused nosebags.
A-Birding on a Bronco|Florence A. Merriam
The two horses, instinctively drawing close together, turned their tails to the driving flakes.
Two on the Trail|Hulbert Footner

British Dictionary definitions for horses

horse

/ (hɔːs) /

noun

a domesticated perissodactyl mammal, Equus caballus, used for draught work and riding: family EquidaeRelated adjective: equine

the adult male of this species; stallion

wild horse

a horse (Equus caballus) that has become feral
another name for Przewalski's horse

any other member of the family Equidae, such as the zebra or ass
(as modifier)the horse family

(functioning as plural) horsemen, esp cavalrya regiment of horse

short for Baja California Norte

a narrow board supported by a pair of legs at each end, used as a frame for sawing or as a trestle, barrier, etc

a contrivance on which a person may ride and exercise

a slang word for heroin

mining a mass of rock within a vein of ore

nautical a rod, rope, or cable, fixed at the ends, along which something may slide by means of a thimble, shackle, or other fitting; traveller

chess an informal name for knight

informal short for horsepower

(modifier) drawn by a horse or horsesa horse cart

a horse of another colour or a horse of a different colour a completely different topic, argument, etc

be on one's high horse or get on one's high horse informal to be disdainfully aloof

flog a dead horse See flog (def. 6)

hold one's horses to hold back; restrain oneself

horses for courses a policy, course of action, etc modified slightly to take account of specific circumstances without departing in essentials from the original

the horse's mouth the most reliable source

to horse! an order to mount horses

verb

(tr) to provide with a horse or horses

to put or be put on horseback

(tr) to move (something heavy) into position by sheer physical strength

Derived Formshorseless, adjectivehorselike, adjective

Word Origin for horse

Old English hors; related to Old Frisian hors, Old High German hros, Old Norse hross

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for horses (1 of 2)

horse

Old English hors, from Proto-Germanic *hursa- (cf. Old Norse hross, Old Frisian hors, Middle Dutch ors, Dutch ros, Old High German hros, German Roß "horse"), of unknown origin, connected by some with PIE root *kurs-, source of Latin currere "to run" (see current (adj.)).

The usual Indo-European word is represented by Old English eoh, from PIE *ekwo- "horse" (see equine). In many other languages, as in English, this root has been lost in favor of synonyms, probably via superstitious taboo on uttering the name of an animal so important in Indo-European religion.

Used since at least late 14c. of various devices or appliances which suggest a horse (e.g. sawhorse). To ride a horse that was foaled of an acorn (1670s) was through early 19c. a way to say "be hanged from the gallows." Slang for heroin is first attested 1950. Horse latitudes first attested 1777, the name of unknown origin, despite much speculation. Dead horse as a figure for "something that has ceased to be useful" is attested from 1630s.

HORSEGODMOTHER, a large masculine wench; one whom it is difficult to rank among the purest and gentlest portion of the community. [John Trotter Brockett, "A Glossary of North Country Words," 1829]

The horse's mouth as a source of reliable information is from 1921, perhaps originally of racetrack tips, from the fact that a horse's age can be determined accurately by looking at its teeth. To swap horses while crossing the river (a bad idea) is from the American Civil War and appears to have been originally one of Abe Lincoln's stories. Horse and buggy meaning "old-fashioned" is recorded from 1926 slang, originally in reference to a "young lady out of date, with long hair." The proverbial gift horse was earlier given horse:

No man ought to looke a geuen hors in the mouth. [Heywood, 1546]

The modern form perhaps traces to Butler's "Hudibras" (1663), where the tight iambic tetrameter required a shorter phrase:

He ne'er consider'd it, as loth
To look a Gift-horse in the mouth.

Word Origin and History for horses (1 of 2)

horse

Old English horsian "to provide with a horse or horses," from horse (n.). Related: Horsed; horsing. Sense of "to play excessive jokes on" is by 1893, mostly in formation horse around (1928), perhaps from horseplay.

[A] favorite pastime for many men is to "horse" or guy a friend who has shown himself susceptible to ridicule or fun making. "Horsing" is extremely wholesome mental discipline for over sensitive or super-conceited young men. "Horsing" always implies a joke at another's expense. As to how it came into use there is no satisfactory theory to offer. ["Yale Literary Magazine," December 1893]

Idioms and Phrases with horses

horse

In addition to the idioms beginning with horse

horse around
horse of a different color, a
horse sense
horse trading

also see:

back the wrong horse
beat a dead horse
cart before the horse
change horses in midstream
charley horse
dark horse
eat like a bird (horse)
from the horse's mouth
hold one's horses
if wishes were horses
look a gift horse in the mouth
on one's high horse
war horse
wild horses couldn't drag
work like a beaver (horse)
you can lead a horse to water

horse

noun, plural hors·es, (especially collectively) horse.

verb (used with object), horsed, hors·ing.

verb (used without object), horsed, hors·ing.

adjective

Verb Phrases

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of horse

Examples from the Web for horses

British Dictionary definitions for horses

horse

noun

verb

Word Origin for horse

Word Origin and History for horses (1 of 2)

horse

Word Origin and History for horses (1 of 2)

horse

Idioms and Phrases with horses

horse