Word
oxen
Phoneticsox·en
US/ˈɑksən/
UK/ˈɒksən/
Definition
n. more than one ox; large animals used for pulling heavy farm equipment.
n. the irregular plural form of ox; refers to large, usually castrated male cattle trained as draft animals.
Examples
“The farmer used two oxen to pull the heavy wooden cart.”
“Before the invention of the tractor, many farmers relied on teams of oxen to prepare their fields for planting.”
“The historical narrative describes how the pioneers' heavy wagons were hauled across the rugged mountain passes by teams of sturdy oxen, moving slowly but reliably through the mud.”
Examples
simple
“The farmer used two oxen to pull the heavy wooden cart.”
contextual
“Before the invention of the tractor, many farmers relied on teams of oxen to prepare their fields for planting.”
complex
“The historical narrative describes how the pioneers' heavy wagons were hauled across the rugged mountain passes by teams of sturdy oxen, moving slowly but reliably through the mud.”
Usage
This is an irregular plural noun; it does not follow the standard '-s' or '-es' pattern.
Teaching tip
While 'ox' is A2/B1, the irregular plural 'oxen' is often taught at higher levels as a classic example of Germanic plural remnants.
Pitfall
The farmer kept two oxes in the barn.
The farmer kept two oxen in the barn.
The plural of 'ox' is irregular; use 'oxen' instead of adding '-es'.
Etymology
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *uksḗn Proto-Germanic *uhsô Proto-West Germanic *ohsō Old English oxa Old English oxan Middle English oxen English oxen From Middle English oxen, from Old English oxan, from Proto-West Germanic ohsan, from Proto-Germanic uhsniz, nominative and accusative plural of *uhsô (“ox”), equivalent to ox + -en (plural ending).
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Synonyms
Scan code
englishreference.com/q/oxen