equine

American  

[ee-kwahyn, ek-wahyn] / ˈi kwaɪn, ˈɛk waɪn /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling a horse or other member of the horse family.

   a bold, equine face.

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noun

1. Also called equid.  a horse or other member of the horse family.

   Her draft horses and mules are some of the finest equines we’ve ever seen.

equine British  

/ ˈɛkwaɪn /

adjective

1. of, relating to, or resembling a horse

2. of, relating to, or belonging to the family Equidae, which comprises horses, zebras, and asses

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equine Scientific  

/ ē′kwīn′,ĕk′wīn′ /

1. Characteristic of or resembling horses or related animals, such as donkeys.

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Other Word Forms

• equinely adverb
• equinity noun
• unequine adjective

Etymology

Origin of equine

First recorded in 1770–80; from Latin equīnus, equivalent to equ(us) “horse” + -īnus adjective suffix; -ine ¹

Explanation

Equine means having to do with horses. An equine saddle is one used for a horse, as opposed to one for a camel. An equine face is a horse face, and no, that's not a very nice thing to say. Equine is connected to words that refer to animals—bovine means having to do with cows, porcine pigs, feline cats, canine dogs, etc. Many young girls go through an equine phase, where they are obsessed with all things horse—books, dolls, images, and, last but not least, actual horseback riding.

Example Sentences

Every year, as many as 7,000 horses pass through the equine hotel.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 14, 2026

The designer, a big supporter of equine therapy, featured 12 dancing horses at her presentation, which she said also celebrated the Chinese year of the horse.

From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026

Horses could be put to work at pack stations, equine therapy and rodeo schools for kids, the group says.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 7, 2025

You may have heard of the Horse Girl: the adolescent female obsessed with beasts of the equine variety, the girl who watches National Velvet on repeat and begs her parents for riding lessons.

From Slate • Oct. 1, 2025

Then there were all the diseases one is vulnerable to in the woods—giardiasis, eastern equine encephalitis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, Lyme disease, ehrlichiosis, schistosomiasis, brucellosis, and shigellosis, to offer but a sampling.

From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson