horse

[ hawrs ]

noun

, plural hors·es, (especially collectively) horse.

1. a large, solid-hoofed, herbivorous quadruped, Equus caballus, domesticated since prehistoric times, bred in a number of varieties, and used for carrying or pulling loads, for riding, and for racing.
2. a fully mature male animal of this type; stallion.
3. any of several perissodactyls belonging to the family Equidae, including the horse, zebra, donkey, and ass, having a thick, flat coat with a narrow mane along the back of the neck and bearing the weight on only one functioning digit, the third, which is widened into a round or spade-shaped hoof.
4. something on which a person rides, sits, or exercises, as if astride the back of such an animal:

   rocking horse.

5. Also called trestle. a frame, block, etc., with legs, on which something is mounted or supported.
6. Gymnastics.
   1. vaulting horse.
   2. pommel horse.
7. Carpentry. carriage ( def 7 ).
8. soldiers serving on horseback; cavalry:

   a thousand horse.

9. Slang. a man; fellow.
10. Often horses. Informal. horsepower.
11. horses, Slang. the power or capacity to accomplish something, as by having enough money, personnel, or expertise:

    Our small company doesn't have the horses to compete against a giant corporation.

12. Chess Informal. a knight.
13. Slang. a crib, translation, or other illicit aid to a student's recitation; trot; pony.
14. Mining. a mass of rock enclosed within a lode or vein.
15. Nautical. traveler ( def 6b ).
16. Shipbuilding. a mold of a curved frame, especially one used when the complexity of the curves requires laying out at full size.
17. Slang. heroin.

verb (used with object)

, horsed, hors·ing.

1. to provide with a horse or horses.
2. to set on horseback.
3. to set or carry on a person's back or on one's own back.
4. Carpentry. to cut notches for steps into (a carriage beam).
5. to move with great physical effort or force:

   It took three men to horse the trunk up the stairs.

6. Slang.
   1. to make (a person) the target of boisterous jokes.
   2. to perform boisterously, as a part or a scene in a play.
7. Nautical.
   1. to caulk (a vessel) with a hammer.
   2. to work or haze (a sailor) cruelly or unfairly.
8. Archaic. to place (someone) on a person's back, in order to be flogged.

verb (used without object)

, horsed, hors·ing.

1. to mount or go on a horse.
2. (of a mare) to be in heat.
3. Vulgar. to have sexual intercourse.

adjective

1. of, for, or pertaining to a horse or horses:

   the horse family; a horse blanket.

2. drawn or powered by a horse or horses.
3. mounted or serving on horses:

   horse troops.

4. unusually large.

verb phrase

1. Slang. to fool around; indulge in horseplay.

horse

/ hɔːs /

noun

1. a domesticated perissodactyl mammal, Equus caballus, used for draught work and riding: family Equidae equine
2. the adult male of this species; stallion
3. wild horse
   1. a horse ( Equus caballus ) that has become feral
   2. another name for Przewalski's horse
4. 1. any other member of the family Equidae, such as the zebra or ass
   2. ( as modifier )

      the horse family

5. functioning as plural horsemen, esp cavalry

   a regiment of horse

6. short for Baja California Norte
7. a narrow board supported by a pair of legs at each end, used as a frame for sawing or as a trestle, barrier, etc
8. a contrivance on which a person may ride and exercise
9. a slang word for heroin
10. mining a mass of rock within a vein of ore
11. nautical a rod, rope, or cable, fixed at the ends, along which something may slide by means of a thimble, shackle, or other fitting; traveller
12. chess an informal name for knight
13. informal.
    short for horsepower
14. modifier drawn by a horse or horses

    a horse cart

15. a horse of another colour or a horse of a different colour
    a completely different topic, argument, etc
16. be on one's high horse or get on one's high horse informal.
    to be disdainfully aloof
17. flog a dead horse
    See flog
18. hold one's horses
    to hold back; restrain oneself
19. horses for courses
    a policy, course of action, etc modified slightly to take account of specific circumstances without departing in essentials from the original
20. the horse's mouth
    the most reliable source
21. to horse!
    an order to mount horses

verb

1. tr to provide with a horse or horses
2. to put or be put on horseback
3. tr to move (something heavy) into position by sheer physical strength

Derived Forms

• ˈhorseˌlike, adjective
• ˈhorseless, adjective

Other Words From

• horse·less adjective
• horse·like adjective
• un·der·horse verb (used with object) underhorsed underhorsing

Word History and Origins

Origin of horse¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English noun hors; cognate with Old Norse hross, Dutch ros, German Ross ( Middle High German ros, Old High German hros ), from Germanic horso-, perhaps from the same Proto-Indo-European root that is the source of Latin currere “to run” (from unattested cursere ); Middle English horsen “to provide with horses,” Old English horsian, derivative of the noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of horse¹

Old English hors; related to Old Frisian hors, Old High German hros, Old Norse hross

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. To horse! Mount your horse! Ride!
2. back the wrong horse, to be mistaken in judgment, especially in backing a losing candidate.
3. beat / flog a dead horse, to attempt to revive a discussion, topic, or idea that has waned, been exhausted, or proved fruitless.
4. from the horse's mouth, Informal. on good authority; from the original or a trustworthy source:

   I have it straight from the horse's mouth that the boss is retiring.

5. hold one's horses, Informal. to check one's impulsiveness; be patient or calm:

   Hold your horses! I'm almost ready.

6. horse of another color, something entirely different. Also horse of a different color.
7. look a gift horse in the mouth, to be critical of a gift.

More idioms and phrases containing horse

• back the wrong horse
• beat a dead horse
• cart before the horse
• change horses in midstream
• charley horse
• dark horse
• eat like a bird (horse)
• from the horse's mouth
• hold one's horses
• if wishes were horses
• look a gift horse in the mouth
• on one's high horse
• war horse
• wild horses couldn't drag
• work like a beaver (horse)
• you can lead a horse to water

Example Sentences

"As we recently published in the journal PNAS, we can actually trace the male lineage of horses using the Y chromosome, which was something we could not do before," Cothran said.

From Science Daily

Mr. Payne’s coffin arrived in a carriage drawn by two white horses.

From New York Times

Despite that legal history, Medicaid work requirements remain a beloved hobby horse of conservatives.

From Los Angeles Times

“She needs to get off her high horse and not think that I was thinking about her for the last 15 years.”

From Salon

In horse racing, Black jockeys won more than half of the Kentucky Derby held from 1875 to 1903 — until Jim Crow eliminated the Black jockey.

From Salon

Related Words

• colt
• filly
• mare
• stallion

More About Horse

Where does the word horse come from?

A horse is a horse, of course, of course. And that’s basically true, etymologically speaking, too.

Horse comes from the Old English hors. The word has many cousins in Germanic languages, and might come from an ancient root meaning “to run.” If that’s the case—then of course!

At the same time, that Old English hors has no relation to hors d’oeuvre, French for “outside the main course.”

And the word hoarse, meaning “having harsh or husky sound,” is a homonym of horse. While the words sound the same and are nearly spelled the same, they have different histories.  

Now that you know how horses got their name, why not find out how some of our other most beloved pets got theirs in the slideshow: “Where Do The Words For Our Pets Come From?”

Did you know … ?

Humans domesticated horses, the quintessential riding animal, at least 6,000 years ago. Horses have had a gigantic impact on civilization, used for travel, food cultivation, sport, warfare, and many other functions.

The impact of horses on humans is evident in the English language, too. The word has been applied to everything from gymnastics (e.g., pommel horse) to carpentry (sawhorse) to chess (the knight piece) to various informal terms (horse as slang for “man, fellow”) and expressions, e.g., healthy as a horse and I’m so hungry, I could eat a horse.