mustang
Americannoun
-
a small, hardy horse of the American plains, descended from Spanish stock.
-
U.S. Navy Slang. a naval officer who received his commission while still an enlisted man.
verb (used without object)
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of mustang
1800–10, < Spanish mestengo stray or ownerless beast, noun use of masculine adj.: pertaining to a mixed lot of beasts, equivalent to mest ( a ) such a mixed lot (< Latin ( animālia ) mixta mixed (beasts), neuter plural adj., taken as feminine singular noun; see mixed) + -engo adj. suffix
Explanation
A mustang is a type of wild horse. Most mustangs roam free in the western part of the United States. It's actually more accurate to call mustangs feral horses, since they live like wild animals but are directly descended from horses that were domesticated. These ancestors were Spanish horses brought to North America by explorers during the 1500s. The cowboys who caught and sold mustangs during the 18th and 19 centuries were known as mustangers. The word mustang comes from the Spanish mestengo, "wild, stray, or having no master."
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.
See Examples For:
The Forest Service reports the herd’s origins are unknown, noting it may be linked to mustang drives between Owens Valley and Nevada.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
"A wild mustang stallion kicks up a dust storm in north-western Colorado."
From BBC ● Mar. 16, 2022
“We had noticed that she’d been slowing down some lately,” the mustang protection group said.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 3, 2021
And the novel’s mustang spirit diminishes into a ho-hum horse movie.
From New York Times ● Nov. 27, 2020
Or about the time he wrestled a pack of wild dogs that had surrounded a lame mustang.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
They employ quite a few mustangs at their guest ranch operation in the town of Bridgeport, including Jethro, a friendly brown fella with a splash of white on his forehead.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2025
Government lawyers said in court filings Monday the horse advocates are trying to inflame emotions with photos and videos of injured mustangs trying to flee helicopters and wranglers on horseback.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 8, 2023
A longtime observer and defender of the mustangs caught the animal’s struggle on video.
From Washington Times ● Jul. 19, 2023
In less than five minutes, Mongo had joined the approximately 71,000 wild mustangs that roam the West, according to Bureau of Land Management figures.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 10, 2022
Jason felt the south winds zipping around him, whinnying in challenge like headstrong mustangs, testing his will.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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.
