water buffalo

American

[waw-ter buhf-uh-loh, wot-er] / ˈwɔ tər ˌbʌf ə loʊ, ˈwɒt ər /

noun

a domesticated buffalo, Bubalus bubalis, of tropical Asia, having large, flattened, curved horns.
a very large wild buffalo, Bubalus arnee, of the Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia, having large, flattened, curved horns and frequenting swamps and rivers: currently endangered.

water buffalo British

noun

Also called: Asiatic buffalo. Indian buffalo. carabao. a member of the cattle tribe, Bubalus bubalis, of swampy regions of S Asia, having widely spreading back-curving horns. Domesticated forms are used as draught animals

"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

Etymology

Origin of water buffalo

First recorded in 1885–90

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:

water buffalo

It involved O'Brien getting on the back of a water buffalo, per the request of one of his producers.

From Salon ● Apr. 14, 2024

Escaped water buffalo herd wreck new swimming pool.

From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2023

Pest population management is routinely carried out in Australia for large hooved animals, including deer, pigs, goats, camels and water buffalo.

From Science Daily ● Nov. 8, 2023

Now a taxidermied water buffalo head — the ox — watches from above the bar, while the appellative bull is represented across from it in gleaming metal.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 26, 2023

I realised I must have looked like a water buffalo, running in such a frenzy.

From "Nectar in a Sieve" by Kamala Markandaya

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023