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.
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
Plural word for ox The plural form of ox is oxen. This is one of the few remaining irregular nouns whose plural derives directly from its original pluralization in Old English. A similar change is made when pluralizing woman (women), man (men), and child (children). In some rare instances, ox is pluralized in the more conventional fashion as oxes, but this form is often considered incorrect and should be avoided.
First recorded 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
Short for oxygen
From the Medieval Latin word Oxonia
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Horse enemies are the Rat and the Ox.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026
Marx beat two international team-mates, last year's winner Pieter-Steph du Toit and prop Ox Nche, as well as France winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey to the award.
From Barron's • Nov. 22, 2025
Both locations will be closed for Thanksgiving, but you can preorder a duck dinner from Taurus Ox for pickup.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 17, 2023
The overlook falls within the stretch now closed, between mile marker 367.6 near a picnic area and mile marker 375.6 where the parkway meets Ox Creek Road.
From Washington Times • Oct. 31, 2023
Above the coffeemaker an assortment of figurines marched along the shelf: Paul Bunyan and Babe the Blue Ox, Mickey Mouse, Zeus, and Felix the Cat.
From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides
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.
