/ hɔːs; NAmE hɔːrs/ noun , verb
■ noun
1.
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. :
He mounted his horse and rode off.
a horse and cart
—see also colt , filly , foal , gelding , mare , stallion
2.
the horses [ pl. ] ( informal ) horse racing :
He lost a lot of money on the horses (= by gambling on races) .
3.
= vaulting horse
—see also clothes horse , hobby horse , Quarter Horse , rocking horse , sea horse , stalking horse , Trojan horse , white horses
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IDIOMS
- (straight) from the horse's mouth
- hold your horses
- horses for courses
- a one, two, three, etc. horse race
- you can lead / take a horse to water, but you can't make it drink
—more at back verb , barn noun , cart noun , change verb , dark adjective , drive verb , eat , flog , gift noun , high adjective , stable door noun , wild adjective , wish noun
■ verb
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PHRASAL VERBS
- horse about / around
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English hors , of Germanic origin; related to Dutch ros and German Ross .