- a large animal with four legs, a mane (= long thick hair on its neck) and a tail. Horses are used for riding on, pulling carriages, etc.
- to ride a horse
- to get on a horse
- He mounted his horse and rode off.
- She's a keen horse rider.
- He wants to become a professional horse trainer.
- on a horse a rider on a white horse
- by horse They travelled seven miles by horse to the camp.
- a horse and cart
Extra ExamplesTopics Animalsa1- He urged his horse into a gallop.
- He was jailed for 15 years for nobbling a horse that had been going to run in the Derby.
- He was mounted on the finest horse you could ever see.
- Heavy horses (= large, strong horses) were used for delivering beer.
- Hundreds of animals are bought and sold at the annual horse fair.
- Several horses trotted past us.
- She has a knack for handling horses.
- The cart overturned, the horse plunging and rearing in its traces.
- The horse stumbled and threw its rider.
- The horse trough was full of stagnant water.
- The race organizers became suspicious when the two most fancied horses finished last.
- The weary horse plodded up the hill.
- There are ten horses running in the next race.
- They passed an old horse pulling a cart full of apples.
- They would need fresh horses if they were to reach the border the next day.
- Three horses fell when a loose horse ran across the track.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- beautiful
- fine
- good
- …
- breed
- own
- train
- …
- canter
- gallop
- trot
- …
- box
- trailer
- breeder
- …
- on a/the horse
- a horse and carriage
- a horse and cart
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- the horses[plural] (informal) horse racing
- He lost a lot of money on the horses (= by gambling on races).
- a large object with legs, and sometimes handles, used in gymnastics see also pommel horse, vaulting horse see also charley horse, clothes horse, hobby horse, rocking horse, saddle horse, seahorse, stalking horse, Trojan horse, white horses
Word OriginOld English hors, of Germanic origin; related to Dutch ros and German Ross.
Idioms
See horse in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionaryback the wrong horse
- (British English) to support somebody/something that is not successfulTopics Difficulty and failurec2
be/get on your high horse
- (informal) to behave in a way that shows you think you are better than other people
change horses in midstream
- to change to a different or new activity while you are in the middle of something else; to change from supporting one person or thing to another
close, lock, etc. the stable door after the horse has bolted (British English)
(North American English close, lock, etc. the barn door after the horse has escaped)
- to try to prevent or avoid loss or damage when it is already too late to do so
a dark horse
- (British English) a person who does not tell other people much about their life, and who surprises other people by having interesting qualities
- a person taking part in a race, etc. who surprises everyone by winning
drive a coach and horses through something
- to cause something to fail, for example a plan
eat like a horse
- (informal) to eat a lot
- She may be thin, but she eats like a horse.
flog a dead horse
(North American English also beat a dead horse)
- (informal) to waste your effort by trying to do something that is no longer possible
(straight) from the horse’s mouth
- (informal) (of information) given by somebody who is directly involved and therefore likely to be accurate
hold your horses
- (informal) used to tell somebody that they should wait a moment and not be so excited that they take action without thinking about it first
horses for courses
- (British English) the act of matching people with suitable jobs or tasks
if wishes were horses, beggars would/might ride
- (saying) wishing for something does not make it happen
look a gift horse in the mouth
- (usually with negatives) (informal) to refuse or criticize something that is given to you for nothing
- I’m never one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
a one, two, three, etc. horse race
- a competition or an election in which there are only one, two, etc. teams or candidates with a chance of winning
- The women’s competition was a two horse race between last year’s winners Surrey and the previous champions Essex.
put the cart before the horse
- to put or do things in the wrong order
wild horses would not drag somebody somewhere, make somebody do something, etc.
- used to say that nothing would persuade somebody to go somewhere or do something they do not want to do
you can lead/take a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink
- (saying) you can give somebody the opportunity to do something, but you cannot force them to do it if they do not want to
Check pronunciation:
horse