ox

[oks]

See more synonyms for ox on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural ox·en for 1, 2, ox·es for 3.

the adult castrated male of the genus Bos, used chiefly as a draft animal.
any member of the bovine family.
Informal. a clumsy, stupid fellow.

Origin of ox

before 900; Middle English oxe, Old English oxa; cognate with Old Frisian oxa, Old Saxon, Old High German ohso, Old Norse uxi, oxi; akin to Welsh ych

Related formsox·like, adjective

ox-

Chemistry.

a combining form meaning “containing oxygen”: oxazine.

Origin of ox-

short for oxygen

Ox.

Oxford.

Origin of Ox.

From the Medieval Latin word Oxonia

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for ox

hulking, burly, sturdy, hulk, clod, dunce, imbecile, clown, klutz, yokel, sap, dolt, half-wit, bumpkin, idiot, boor, blunderer, brute, moron, nincompoop

Examples from the Web for ox

Contemporary Examples of ox

There's no Nicely-Nicely Johnson hanging out in Times Square these days, no Harry the Horse, no Angie the Ox.
New York’s Greatest Show Or How They Did Not Screw Up ‘Guys and Dolls’
Ross Wetzsteon
April 6, 2014
The doctors said it was as strong as an ox, considering he was so sedentary.
Gore Vidal’s Tragic Final Decade
Tim Teeman
November 8, 2013
Whoever's ox Obama chooses to gore will probably be a considerably less enthusiastic coalition member come 2016.
Is Demography Destiny?
Megan McArdle
November 7, 2012
During this time, he also oversaw his own farm, Ox Hollow Farm in Roxbury, Connecticut.
5 Things You Need to Know About Grass-Fed Beef
Mark Maynard
April 13, 2010
This dish is based on the beautiful white honeycomb tripe, which comes from the second stomach, or the reticulum, of an ox.
What to Eat: Offal
Cookstr.com
January 26, 2010

Historical Examples of ox

Then, he smote his thigh with a blow strong enough to kill an ox.
Within the Law
Marvin Dana
Then he dealt him a straight blow in the face that felled him like an ox.
The Hunted Outlaw
Anonymous
Peace, my darling, here's no danger; There's no ox a-near thy bed.
Grandma's Memories
Mary D. Brine
And of a sudden he struck a blow at the youth that might have felled an ox.
The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood
Howard Pyle
The bovine humanity fitted to the machinery as the ox to the treadmill.
City of Endless Night
Milo Hastings

British Dictionary definitions for ox

ox

noun plural oxen (ˈɒksən)

an adult castrated male of any domesticated species of cattle, esp Bos taurus, used for draught work and meat
any bovine mammal, esp any of the domestic cattle

Word Origin for ox

Old English oxa; related to Old Saxon, Old High German ohso, Old Norse oxi

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 ox

Old English oxa "ox" (plural oxan), from Proto-Germanic *ukhson (cf. Old Norse oxi, Old Frisian oxa, Middle Dutch osse, Old Saxon, Old High German ohso, German Ochse, Gothic auhsa), from PIE *uks-en- "male animal," (cf. Welsh ych "ox," Middle Irish oss "stag," Sanskrit uksa, Avestan uxshan- "ox, bull"), said to be from root *uks- "to sprinkle," related to *ugw- "wet, moist." The animal word, then, is literally "besprinkler."