venison

American  

[ven-uh-suhn, -zuhn] / ˈvɛn ə sən, -zən /

noun

1. the flesh of a deer or similar animal as used for food.

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venison British  

/ ˈvɛnɪzən, -sən /

noun

1. the flesh of a deer, used as food

2. archaic the flesh of any game animal used for food

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Etymology

Origin of venison

1250–1300; Middle English ven ( a ) ison < Old French veneison, venaison < Latin vēnātiōn (stem of vēnātiō hunting), equivalent to vēnāt ( us ) ( see venatic) + -iōn- -ion

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Explanation

Bambi, beware. Venison is deer meat intended as food. Venison is derived from the medieval French word venesoun, which originally described the meat of any large animal, not just deer. Back then, venison was as common as a Big Mac today (rather than as the fairly classy meal it's considered today). In Britain, before 1066, when the French came over and conquered them, the Brits had pretty simple names for their meat: cow, pig, deer, etc. The French, with their high regard for cuisine, changed all that, and the names became beef, bacon, and venison. The British, though, despite the fancy new names, famously refused to take cooking as seriously as their new French rulers.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

venison

He donates the venison to food pantries because he has alpha-gal and his son “almost died from anaphylactic shock from two Advil gel caps,” he told me.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 4, 2026

A commonly eaten meat in Australia, kangaroo is the world’s leanest protein and the equivalent of venison in America.

From Salon ● Aug. 30, 2026

Everyone is allergic to beef and other meats such as pork, lamb and venison, but not to non-mammal meats such as poultry or fish.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026

The Country Food Trust is a food poverty charity that uses venison from deer shot on estates and farms to provide meals at 1,500 foodbanks, homeless shelters and community kitchens across the UK.

From BBC ● Feb. 19, 2026

Occasionally I left him bites of turtle or venison, and although he smelled the offerings, he never ate them.

From "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

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