ENGLISH
REFERENCE

cow

n. · v.
US //ˈkaʊ// UK //kˈaʊ// cow
  1. 1 farm animal (n.)
    A1 Beginner

    a large female farm animal kept for its milk or meat.

    an adult female of the species Bos taurus, typically one that has given birth to a calf.

    Example

    The farmer milked the cow every morning before the sun came up.

    Example

    The herd consisted mainly of dairy cows grazing peacefully in the lower pasture near the stream.
  2. 2 female of large mammals (n.)
    B2 Upper Intermediate Science

    the female of some other large animals, like elephants or whales.

    the female of various large mammals, including elephants, whales, seals, and hippos.

    Example

    The mother elephant, or cow, stayed close to her young calf.

    Example

    Marine biologists observed the whale cow and her offspring migrating toward warmer waters for the winter season.
Show 2 more sensesShow fewer
  1. 3 unpleasant woman (n.)
    C1 Advanced British English Informal Vulgar

    an unkind word for a woman you think is stupid or unpleasant.

    a derogatory term for a woman perceived as unpleasant, difficult, or unintelligent.

    Example

    He was being very rude and called the shop assistant a stupid cow.

    Example

    The argument escalated quickly, ending with him shouting insults and calling her a lazy cow before storming out.

    Teacher's tip

    This is highly offensive in most contexts; learners should be aware of its impact but avoid using it themselves.
  2. 4 to intimidate (v.)
    C1 Advanced Literary Formal

    to make someone feel afraid or less confident.

    to intimidate or daunt the spirits of someone, often through a show of force or authority.

    Example

    The protesters refused to be cowed by the large police presence.

    Example

    The dictator attempted to cow the local population into submission through a series of restrictive new laws and public threats.

    Usage

    Usually used in the passive voice ('to be cowed by').
Etymology 1

Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws Proto-Germanic *kōz Proto-West Germanic *kō Old English cū Middle English cow English cow Inherited from Middle English cow, cou, from Old English cū (“cow”), from Proto-West Germanic kō, from Proto-Germanic kōz (“cow”), from Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws (“cow”). Cognate with Sanskrit गो (go), Ancient Greek βοῦς (boûs), Persian گاو (gâv)), Latvian govs (“cow”), Proto-Slavic *govędo (Serbo-Croatian govedo, Russian говядина (govjadina, “beef”), Scots coo (“cow”), North Frisian ko, kø (“cow”), West Frisian ko (“cow”), Dutch koe (“cow”), Low German Koh, Koo, Kau (“cow”), German Kuh (“cow”), Swedish ko (“cow”), Norwegian ku (“cow”), Icelandic kýr (“cow”), Latin bōs (“ox, bull, cow”) (whence English beef), Armenian կով (kov, “cow”). Doublet of beef. The plural kine is from Middle English kyne, kyn, kuin, kiin, kien (“cows”), either a double plural of Middle English ky, kye (“cows”), equivalent to modern kye + -en, or inherited from Old English cūna (“cows', of cows”), genitive plural of cū (“cow”).

Etymology 2

Probably from Old Norse kúga (“to oppress”) (whence also Norwegian and Danish kue, Swedish kuva); compare Icelandic kúfa (“to set on top”) and Faroese kúga (“to oppress”).

Etymology 3

Clipping of AT2018cow. From the name of the archetypal event, AT2018cow, an LFBOT. From being an astronomical transient (AT) occurring in 2018, with an automatically assigned code to distinguish it from other events in 2018.

Word family
Idioms4 entries

© 2026 English Reference