: a large solid-hoofed herbivorousungulate mammal (Equus caballus, family Equidae, the horse family) domesticated since prehistoric times and used as a beast of burden, a draft animal, or for riding
: an athlete whose performance is consistently strong and reliable
a team with the horses to win the pennant
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or H-O-R-S-E: a game in which players take turns attempting to duplicate successful basketball shots, a letter of the word "horse" is awarded for each missed attempt, and the first player to receive all five letters loses
Noun
a car with 275 horses
He lost a lot of money on the horses.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Along with the lead horse, which was being led rather than ridden at the time, two riders were thrown from their horses as the animals ran free through the capital’s streets.—Lauren Said-Moorhouse, CNN, 1 July 2024 Approximately 100 horses graze on the meadows and beaches, providing a majestic sight for visitors.—Food Drink Life, Orlando Sentinel, 29 June 2024 Past years have seen the likes of ice skaters, horses, flames, and bloodbaths getting the fest off to the races with a bang and leaving guests breathless.—Georg Szalai, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 June 2024 The Northern California Postal Customer Council also used the opportunity to unveil its 2024 horse postage stamp.—Vincent Medina, Sacramento Bee, 28 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for horse
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'horse.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Noun, Verb, and Adjective
Middle English hors, from Old English; akin to Old High German hros horse
First Known Use
Noun
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)
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