calve

verb

ˈkav How to pronounce calve (audio)
ˈkäv
calved; calving

intransitive verb

1
: to give birth to a calf
also : to produce offspring
2
of an ice mass : to separate or break so that a part becomes detached

transitive verb

1
: to produce by birth
2
of an ice mass : to let become detached

Examples of calve in a Sentence

The cow calved in the barn.
Recent Examples on the Web Electric fences can keep bears, wolves and coyotes out of calving and lambing pastures. Ben Long, The Denver Post, 13 Feb. 2024 Norton and her staffers deleted information about how often the Porcupine herd calved in the coastal plain and left out the data showing the lower survival rates of calves born outside that area. TIME, 8 Feb. 2024 Twinkling stars, roaming wildlife, calving glaciers — some sights are better in high definition. Katie Jackson, Travel + Leisure, 9 Jan. 2024 Joma—who shares his name with the mine—said that reopening it would shrink the reindeers’ calving area and could mean moving the herd elsewhere or culling the flock because their grazing lands are being reduced in size to accommodate the mine. Yusuf Khan and Mari Novik, WSJ, 3 Oct. 2023 And the only way to have abundant supplies of milk is to (usually artificially) inseminate dairy cows to keep them in a near-constant cycle of calving and then weaning their offspring early. Ali Francis, Bon Appétit, 19 Sep. 2023 Despite those early efforts, sustainable breeding populations weren’t fully established until the 1980s when elk from Manitoba crossed into Minnesota and began calving in Roseau and Kittson Counties. Travis Hall, Field & Stream, 28 Sep. 2023 This spring, the NPS told park goers to take extra care during elk calving season when the animals could become extra aggressive. Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 7 Sep. 2023 From Patagonia to Greenland, calving is also a tourist attraction which, thanks to improvements in smartphone camera resolution, has given rise to a YouTube subcommunity. Krista Stevens, Longreads, 12 July 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'calve.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English calven, going back to Old English (Anglian) *calfian, (West Saxon) cealfian, derivative of cælf, cealf calf entry 1

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of calve was before the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near calve

Cite this Entry

“Calve.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/calve. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

calve

verb
ˈkav How to pronounce calve (audio)
ˈkȧv
calved; calving
1
: to give birth to a calf
2
of an ice mass : to break so that a large part becomes separated
a glacier calving icebergs

More from Merriam-Webster on calve

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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