steed
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of steed
before 900; Middle English stēde, Old English stēda stallion; akin to stōd stud 2; compare German Stute
Explanation
A steed is horse used for riding. In adventure stories set in the Middle Ages, knights are always galloping around on their trusty steeds. The noun steed is a very old-fashioned way to say "horse." In Middle English, a steed was distinguished as "a great horse," as opposed to a palfrey, an ordinary, everyday horse. So a steed was typically a war horse that carried warriors into battle. Since the 16th century, this word has primarily been used in literary contexts.
Vocabulary lists containing steed
Tolkien Reading Day, List 4
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Enchanted Air
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Unit 2, Week 5
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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 chief technology officer of the software company Palantir, Mr. Sankar comes at us with warnings of imminent danger, although not on a galloping steed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
If the clomping hooves from the first horseman’s approaching steed got too loud, we’d just turn the music up.
From Salon ● Dec. 21, 2025
Federal agents on horseback with a white steed in the middle trotted through a soccer field.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2025
A campaign video of him cantering through fields on a white steed also helps.
From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2024
To most people, the name means "This was once a horse," but to Don Alonso, it meant a steed above and beyond all other horses in the world!
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
Maybe value can continue to beat growth, but there are speedier steeds in the investing-factor horse race.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
Three soldiers thrown from their steeds were hospitalized with injuries, but were expected to fully recover and return to duty.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 25, 2024
Right now, even the stars without a seat for 2025 will be focused more on their new steeds than their futures.
From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2024
A placard on the sole bus stop warns people to not hitch their steeds to it.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2023
The companions dusted their feet and the hooves of their steeds with a black substance Gwystyl distributed from a moldering sack.
From "The Black Cauldron" by Lloyd Alexander
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.
