noun

cow

kow

noun

An adult female of domestic cattle, especially one that has given birth to a calf.

"The farmer milked the cow every morning at six."

"A herd of cows grazed in the field beside the road."

The female of various other large mammals, such as whales, elephants, or moose.

"The elephant cow stayed close to her calf."

verb

To frighten someone into submission; to intimidate.

"The workers were cowed into silence by threats of dismissal."

How to Use Cow

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA female bovine animal kept for milk or meat, or, as a verb, to scare someone into obeying.

Common mistake

The verb sense (to cow someone) is usually used in the passive: "cowed into silence," "cowed by his tone."

Common pairings

dairy cow milk a cow cowed into silence

cowed past tense, cows plural, cattle plural, kine plural, kye plural, cows plural, cows plural, cows singular

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The farmer milked the _____ every morning at six.

From Old English cu, going back to a very old Indo-European root also seen in Latin bos (giving us "beef") and Greek bous.

moo-cow dolphinet

bull ox steer heifer

nonsense bull ox steer heifer Taurus

Moscow

moo-cow dolphinet bull ox steer heifer nonsense Taurus