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Showing results for sheep. Search instead for CSHEMA.
Synonyms

sheep

American  
[sheep] / ʃip /

noun

plural

sheep

  1. any of numerous ruminant mammals of the genus Ovis, of the family Bovidae, closely related to the goats, especially O. aries, bred in a number of domesticated varieties.

  2. leather made from the skin of these animals.

  3. a meek, unimaginative, or easily led person.

idioms

  1. separate the sheep from the goats, to separate good people from bad or those intended for a specific end from unqualified people.

sheep 1 British  
/ ʃiːp /

noun

  1. any of various bovid mammals of the genus Ovis and related genera, esp O. aries ( domestic sheep ), having transversely ribbed horns and a narrow face. There are many breeds of domestic sheep, raised for their wool and for meat

  2. another name for aoudad

  3. a meek or timid person, esp one without initiative

  4. to pick out the members of any group who are superior in some respects

"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
SHEEP 2 British  

abbreviation

  1. Sky High Earnings Expectations Possibly: applied to investments that appear to offer high returns but may be unreliable

"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
sheep More Idioms  

  1. see black sheep; hanged for a sheep; separate the sheep from the goats; wolf in sheep's clothing.

Other Word Forms

  • sheepless adjective
  • sheeplike adjective

Etymology

Origin of sheep

before 900; Middle English; Old English (north) scēp; cognate with Dutch schaap, German Schaf

Explanation

A sheep is a four-legged farm animal with a thick, wooly coat. Sheep are raised for this wool, as well as for meat, and they're known for their habit of staying close together in a flock. If you have a big flock of sheep, you might want to consider a herding dog or two to keep them in line. Have trouble falling asleep? Try counting sheep, a time-honored method of visualizing one sheep after another jumping over a fence, until you drift off. Sheep can also be used to describe people who never act independently and simply follow the crowd.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

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.

As Brennan and his team left the airport in a convoy of Toyota SUVs, the rubble and wreckage from years of war marked the landscape of sand, brush and sheep herds.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

Back then the farm he lived on had more than a dozen dairy cows, plus sheep, pigs and plow horses, since his family didn’t have a tractor.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026

Dry stone waller Byatt, 43, and his wife Megan, 39, a sheep farmer, moved to Philhope nine years ago.

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

The land abutting the Pinto Mountains Wilderness is also home to badgers, bighorn sheep and Mojave fringe-toed lizards.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 30, 2026

Soon after the sheep left, the humans decided that they didn’t trust the sheep to do its job—so they sent a dog after the sheep, with the same message.

From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer

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

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.