Word
horse
US/ˈhɔɹs/
UK/hˈɔːs/
Definitions
01the animal
A1 · Beginner Countable noun Zoology
n. a large animal with four legs and a mane that people ride or use to pull carts.
n. a large, solid-hoofed herbivorous mammal used for riding, racing, and draft work.
日本語:馬※
“The farmer used a strong horse to pull the plow across the field.”
“Historically, the horse was indispensable for both agricultural labor and rapid communication across vast distances before the advent of the steam engine.”
02gymnastics equipment
B2 · Upper Intermediate Countable noun Sports
n. a piece of equipment with a padded body and four legs used for jumping over in gymnastics.
n. a padded apparatus used in gymnastics for vaulting or pommel exercises.
“The gymnast leaped over the horse with perfect form during the competition.”
“The pommel horse is widely considered one of the most technically demanding events in men's artistic gymnastics due to the required upper-body strength.”
Synonyms
03heroin
C1 · Advanced Uncountable noun Slang
n. a slang name for the illegal drug heroin.
n. a slang term for heroin, typically used in the context of drug trafficking or addiction.
“The old movie showed the dangers of getting hooked on horse.”
“Undercover officers used specific street terminology, including 'horse', to blend in during the narcotics investigation.”
04basketball game
B2 · Upper Intermediate Uncountable noun Sports American English · Informal
n. a casual basketball game where players try to copy each other's shots.
n. an informal basketball shooting game where players must replicate an opponent's successful shot or receive a letter of the word.
“After practice, the two friends stayed late to play a game of horse.”
“The players spent the afternoon competing in a high-stakes game of HORSE, attempting increasingly circus-like shots from behind the bleachers.”
05to play around
B1 · Intermediate Informal
v. to play in a rough or noisy way, often used with 'around'.
v. to engage in boisterous or frivolous play; almost exclusively used in the phrasal form 'horse around'.
“Stop horsing around and finish your homework before dinner.”
“The teacher warned the students that if they continued to horse around near the expensive lab equipment, they would be sent to the principal.”
Usage
Usually appears as the phrasal verb 'horse around'.
Synonyms
Antonyms
06to move with effort
C2 · Proficiency Informal
v. to move or pull something heavy with a lot of physical effort.
v. to move, haul, or maneuver a heavy object through sheer physical strength.
“We had to horse the heavy sofa up three flights of stairs.”
“The mechanics had to horse the engine block into position manually because the crane was out of service.”
Real-World Examples
“The first horse in the United States to be infected with New World screwworm has been detected in southern Texas near the Mexican border, data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture showed.” “A Shire horse that has entered the record books as the world's tallest living horse could exceed his height as he is still growing, his owner has said.” “Smugglers often take the horses to Houston and Dallas, where they sell them for farm work, racing or charrería, Mexico’s traditional equestrian sport.” “Humans and horses have been entwined throughout history, one could not have thrived without the other, according to a new book that explores a unique bond” Etymology
From Middle English hors, horse, ors, the term descends from Old English hors, Proto-West Germanic hors and hross, Proto-Germanic hrussą, Proto-Indo-European ḱr̥sós (“vehicle”), and Proto-Indo-European ḱers- (“to run”), forming a doublet with car and carrus. It survives across the West, West Frisian hoars, Cimbrian ross, Dutch hors and ros, German Ross and Roß, Danish and Norwegian hors, Faroese hors and ross, Icelandic hross, Swedish russ, Cornish karr, Welsh car, Latin currus, Ancient Greek epíkouros, and Tocharian A kursär alongside Tocharian B kwarsär, which retains the older notion of a track or conveyance.
From Old English horsian ("to horse, provide with horses") and ġehorsian ("to horse, set or mount on a horse, supply with horses"), both denominative verbs formed from the noun hors ("horse"). The Middle English descendant horsen carried the same senses into the early modern period.
Unknown; probably originally criminals' cant, formed from the initial letter of heroin and horse.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Word family
Related words
Idioms
02. change horses in midstream
03. charley horse
04. close the stable door after the horse has bolted
05. dark horse
06. drive a coach and horses through
10. get back on the horse that bucked one
Show all 32
12. gift horse
13. high horse
16. horse armor
17. horse around
18. horse of a different color
19. horse opera
20. horse pill
24. put the cart before the horse
25. put the saddle on the right horse
28. stalking horse
30. wild horses
31. willing horse
Domains
- Exam level
- CambridgeCambridgeCambridge English QualificationsThe exam suite from Cambridge University Press & Assessment, from A1 Movers up to C2 Proficiency. The benchmark names double as CEFR labels.A1 MoversIELTSIELTSInternational English Language Testing SystemThe 0–9 band test co-owned by the British Council, IDP, and Cambridge. Used for university entry, work, and migration.2.0–3.0TOEFL iBTTOEFL iBTTest of English as a Foreign Language, Internet-Based TestETS's academic English test, the standard route for US university admissions. Scored 0–120, with a 1–6 scale since 2026.1–6 scale: 1.0–1.50–23TOEICTOEICTest of English for International CommunicationETS's workplace English test, big in Japan and Korea. Listening & Reading scores 10–990 and tops out at C1.120–224
- Frequency
- Common
- Level
- A1 · BeginnerOxford
- Updated
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QR code
englishreference.com/q/horse
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「日本語」 data: JMdict (EDRDG), CC BY-SA 4.0