mustang

American  

[muhs-tang] / ˈmʌs tæŋ /

noun

1. a small, hardy horse of the American plains, descended from Spanish stock.

2. U.S. Navy Slang. a naval officer who received his commission while still an enlisted man.

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verb (used without object)

1. to round up wild horses, especially in order to sell them illegally to slaughterhouses.

mustang British  

/ ˈmʌstæŋ /

noun

1. a small breed of horse, often wild or half wild, found in the southwestern US

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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; mixed ) + -engo adj. suffix

Example Sentences

The term mesteño, meaning stray or wild, became, in cowboy-speak, mustang — that legendary, free-roaming denizen of the high plains.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 23, 2026

But the boy became devoted to the young bay mustang.

From New York Times • Sep. 17, 2022

"A wild mustang stallion kicks up a dust storm in north-western Colorado."

From BBC • Mar. 16, 2022

Even Raymond the mule, who lived with the wild horses until he retired last year to the farm, has Spanish mustang ancestry from his mother, said Meg Puckett, manager of the Corolla wild horse herd.

From Washington Times • May 30, 2020

As Smith watched him in racing combat, images from his mustang days assembled in his head.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

Related Words

• colt
• filly
• mare
• stallion