ox

noun

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\ ˈäks

plural oxen\ ˈäk-sən

\ also ox

Definition of ox

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : a domestic bovine mammal (Bos taurus) broadly : a bovine mammal a team of oxen

2 : an adult castrated male domestic ox

ox-

combining form

variants: or oxo-

Definition of ox- (Entry 2 of 2)

: oxygen oxacillin

More Example Sentences Phrases Containing ox Learn More About ox

Examples of ox in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun His ox, Babe, weighed 5 tons and had the strength of nine horses. — Chelsey Lewis, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 8 Feb. 2022 Sia Xiong and Johnni Sihavong named their new business AN OX Café after their birth year: the Chinese zodiac year of the ox. — Hannah Kirby, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 9 Feb. 2022 Through serious discussion of the implications of the ox-goring laws, perhaps precious lives can be saved. — Rabbi Avi Weiss, sun-sentinel.com, 24 Jan. 2022 Rapu had sometimes felt like a piece of property, particularly when his parents loaned him to the neighbors in exchange for an ox. — Longreads, 19 Jan. 2022 After a succession of decidedly unglamorous animals -- the pig, the rat and, last year, the ox -- the rotating zodiac has finally landed on a more familiar muse. — CNN, 18 Jan. 2022 According to the 1820 census, Shriver made his leather products from ox and cow hides, some horse hides, as well as sheep and calf skins. — Samuel M. Riley, baltimoresun.com/maryland/carroll, 29 Jan. 2022 The animals came through the finish line in this order: rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, goat, monkey, rooster, dog and pig. — Jean Chen Smith, The Enquirer, 27 Jan. 2022 The overconfident tiger was sure to arrive first but arrived third after the rat and the ox. — Marilisa Barbieri, Forbes, 27 Jan. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'ox.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for ox

Noun

Middle English, from Old English oxa; akin to Old High German ohso ox, Sanskrit ukṣā bull, and perhaps to Sanskrit ukṣati he moistens, Greek hygros wet — more at humor entry 1

Combining form

French, from oxygène