# ox

> English word · Noun · IPA /ˈɑks/ · frequency rank #15,672

## Definitions
1. An adult castrated male of cattle (B. taurus), especially when used as a beast of burden.
2. Any bovine animal (genus Bos).

## Etymology
From Middle English oxe, from Old English oxa, from Proto-West Germanic *ohsō, from Proto-Germanic *uhsô (compare West Frisian okse, Dutch os, German Ochse), from Proto-Indo-European *uksḗn.
Cognate with Welsh ych (“ox”), Tocharian A ops, Tocharian B okso (“draft-ox”), Avestan 𐬎𐬑𐬱𐬀𐬥 (uxšan, “bull”), Sanskrit उक्षन् (ukṣán).

## Easily confused with
- **oz** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ox-vs-oz)
- **oy** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ox-vs-oy)
- **oxen** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ox-vs-oxen)
- **Oxon** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ox-vs-oxon)
- **o** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/o-vs-ox)
- **of** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/of-vs-ox)
- **on** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/on-vs-ox)
- **or** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/or-vs-ox)
- **OH** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/oh-vs-ox)
- **OK** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ok-vs-ox)
- **op** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/op-vs-ox)
- **OS** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/os-vs-ox)
- **OT** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ot-vs-ox)
- **ou** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ou-vs-ox)
- **OG** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/og-vs-ox)
- **oi** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/oi-vs-ox)
- **ow** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/ow-vs-ox)
- **OC** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/oc-vs-ox)
- **oo** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/oo-vs-ox)
- **om** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/om-vs-ox)

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/ox