heifer

IPA/ˈhefə(r)/
KK[hˈaɪfɚ]IPA/ˈhefər/

heifer — noun

  • heifersingular
  • heifersplural

1. a female cow in the life stage between calf and full adult: she has produced no

1.nounC2
Definition

a female cow in the life stage between calf and full adult: she has produced no calf yet, or at most one.

Example

Kenji raised three black-and-white heifers on his dairy farm in Hokkaido.

countable plural: heifers in a working farm scene

Each spring, the auction barn fills with farmers bidding on healthy young heifers.

collocation: young heifer (typical modifier even though redundant)

Common collocations
  • raise heifers
  • breed heifers
  • dairy heifer
  • young heifer
  • pregnant heifer
Synonyms
  • young cow

    everyday phrasing non-farmers use when 'heifer' would feel too technical

Antonyms
  • cow

    adult female that has already given birth more than once

  • bull

    adult male

Usage Note

Distinguish from 'calf' (a baby cow of either sex) and 'cow' (an adult female that has already calved more than once). Mostly used by farmers, vets, and people working in agriculture.

Common Mistakes

The bull gave birth to a heifer.
The cow gave birth to a calf.
a newborn cow of either sex is a 'calf'; 'heifer' is reserved for a young female that has not yet had a baby.

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

These four words divide cattle by age and sex, and farmers use them precisely. A 'calf' is any newborn cow, male or female, usually under a year old. A 'heifer' is a young female that has not yet given birth, or has only calved once; she is no longer a calf but not yet treated as a full dairy or breeding cow. After she has produced more than one calf, farmers simply call her a 'cow'. A 'bull' is an adult male, kept for breeding. Outside agricultural settings, English speakers often just say 'cow' for any of these, but in farming, market, or veterinary contexts the distinction matters: prices, feed, and care differ at each stage.

heifer ↗cow ↗calf ↗bull ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • dairy heifer
  • beef heifer
  • heifer calf

Phrases

  • a herd of heifers
  • in-calf heifer

Etymology

Old EnglishMiddle EnglishEnglish

From Old English 'heahfore', a compound whose first part may relate to 'high' (in the sense of full-grown) and whose second part is uncertain. The word has named a young female cow in English for well over a thousand years and has barely changed its meaning, though the spelling shifted to 'heifer' by the early Modern period.