horse
n. · v.-
1 the animal (n.) A1 Beginner Zoologya large animal with four legs and a mane that people ride or use to pull carts.
a large, solid-hoofed herbivorous mammal used for riding, racing, and draft work.
ExampleThe farmer used a strong horse to pull the plow across the field.
ExampleHistorically, the horse was indispensable for both agricultural labor and rapid communication across vast distances before the advent of the steam engine.
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2 gymnastics equipment (n.) B2 Upper Intermediate Sporta piece of equipment with a padded body and four legs used for jumping over in gymnastics.
a padded apparatus used in gymnastics for vaulting or pommel exercises.
ExampleThe gymnast leaped over the horse with perfect form during the competition.
ExampleThe pommel horse is widely considered one of the most technically demanding events in men's artistic gymnastics due to the required upper-body strength.
- vaulting horse
- pommel horse
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3 heroin (n.) C1 Advanced Slanga slang name for the illegal drug heroin.
a slang term for heroin, typically used in the context of drug trafficking or addiction.
ExampleThe old movie showed the dangers of getting hooked on horse.
ExampleUndercover officers used specific street terminology, including 'horse', to blend in during the narcotics investigation.
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4 basketball game (n.) B2 Upper Intermediate American English Informal Sporta casual basketball game where players try to copy each other's shots.
an informal basketball shooting game where players must replicate an opponent's successful shot or receive a letter of the word.
ExampleAfter practice, the two friends stayed late to play a game of horse.
ExampleThe players spent the afternoon competing in a high-stakes game of HORSE, attempting increasingly circus-like shots from behind the bleachers.
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5 to play around (v.) B1 Intermediate Informalto play in a rough or noisy way, often used with 'around'.
to engage in boisterous or frivolous play; almost exclusively used in the phrasal form 'horse around'.
ExampleStop horsing around and finish your homework before dinner.
ExampleThe teacher warned the students that if they continued to horse around near the expensive lab equipment, they would be sent to the principal.
UsageUsually appears as the phrasal verb 'horse around'.
- fool around
- mess around
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6 to move with effort (v.) C2 Proficiency Informalto move or pull something heavy with a lot of physical effort.
to move, haul, or maneuver a heavy object through sheer physical strength.
ExampleWe had to horse the heavy sofa up three flights of stairs.
ExampleThe mechanics had to horse the engine block into position manually because the crane was out of service.
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beat a dead horse
To persist or continue far beyond any purpose, interest or reason.
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charley horse
A muscle cramp, usually a strong one, in the thigh, leg, arm, or core.
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close the stable door after the horse has bolted
To attempt to prevent a problem that has already occurred; to design and implement a preventive mechanism that is too late (after the first failure instead of before).