deer

noun

ˈdir 

plural deer also deers

1

: any of various slender-legged, even-toed, ruminant mammals (family Cervidae, the deer family) having usually brownish fur and deciduous antlers borne by the males of nearly all and by the females only of the caribou : cervid

2

archaic : animal

especially : a small mammal

deerlike

ˈdir-ˌlīk 

adjective

Did you know?

The meaning of a word often develops from the general to the specific. For instance, deer is used in modern English to mean several related forms of an animal species, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. The Old English deor, however, could refer to any animal, tame or wild, or to wild animals in general. In time, deer came to be used only for wild animals that were hunted, and then for the red deer, once widely hunted in England. From that usage the term has spread to related animals, becoming somewhat more general again.

Examples of deer in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

But the deer had spooked (likely from the sound of the ATV, Laleman thinks). —Bob McNally, Outdoor Life, 4 Dec. 2024

The 69-year-old hit a deer while driving west on Dakota County Road 46 near General Sieben Drive in Marshan Township, south of Hastings, according to the Dakota County sheriff’s office. —Kristi Miller, Twin Cities, 2 Dec. 2024

Hunters in Michigan have harvested more than 100,000 deer since the start of the regular firearm deer season, the Department of Natural Resources said on its website Monday. —Jalen Williams, Detroit Free Press, 26 Nov. 2024

The resulting black-and-white photograph shows some two dozen deer in a mesmerizing blur — indistinct, eerie white figures under a canopy of trees. —Richard Sandomir, New York Times, 25 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, deer, animal, from Old English dēor beast; akin to Old High German tior wild animal, Lithuanian dvasia breath, spirit

First Known Use

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

Phrases Containing deer

• axis deer
• barking deer
• black-tailed deer
• deer mouse
• deer tick
• fallow deer
• key deer
• mule deer
• musk deer
• red deer
• roe deer
• white-tailed deer

Kids Definition

deer

noun

ˈdi(ə)r 

plural deer

: any of a family of cloven-hoofed cud-chewing mammals (as an elk, a caribou, or a white-tailed deer) of which the males of almost all species have antlers while the females of only a few species do

Etymology

Old English dēor "wild animal, beast"

Word Origin

The meaning of a word often develops from the general to the specific. For instance, deer is used in modern English to mean several related forms, including white-tailed deer, mule deer, elk, and moose. The Old English dēor, however, could refer to any animal, tame or wild, or to wild animals in general. In time, deer came to be used only for wild animals that were hunted and then for the red deer, once widely hunted in England. From that usage the term has spread to related animals, becoming somewhat more general again.