bullock

Word family

• bull
  nounB1

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These words all refer to male cattle, but they are used in different ways. 'Bullock' is mainly British English for a young male cow that has usually been castrated and raised for beef. 'Steer' is the more usual American English word for the same kind of animal. A 'bull' is not castrated and is kept for breeding, so it behaves differently and is managed differently on a farm. An 'ox' is usually a castrated male cow trained to pull heavy loads, so the focus is work rather than meat production. In everyday farming talk, choosing the right word shows whether you mean a breeding animal, a working animal, or one raised for beef.

Common collocations

Etymology

'Bullock' comes from Old English 'bulluc', an old diminutive form built from 'bull'. Over time it narrowed from a general idea of a small or young bull to the farming sense used today for a young male cow, especially one castrated and raised for meat.