horses

Meanings

1. 1nounplural

   Large four-legged animals that people ride, race or use to pull loads.

   Grammar: Plural of horse: two horses were in the field.

   Patterns

   • ride horses
   • a field of horses

   The horses galloped across the meadow at dawn.

   She keeps three horses at a stable near the village.

   Farmers once used horses to plow the fields.

2. 2nounplural

   Gymnastic apparatus (vaulting horses) or frames for holding things up, such as sawhorses.

   Grammar: Often in compounds: sawhorses, vaulting horses.

   Patterns

   • vaulting horses

   The carpenter set two horses in the garage to hold the plank.

   The gymnasts lined up before the vaulting horses.

3. 3nounpluralinformal

   Engine power measured in horsepower, used loosely to mean strength.

   Grammar: Used informally for engine power: a car with 300 horses.

   Patterns

   • a car with 300 horses

   The truck has 400 horses under the hood.

   Those extra horses give the sports car its quick start.

Word forms

Common combinations

ride horses

They ride horses every weekend.

breed horses

Her family breeds horses in Kentucky.

wild horses

Wild horses live on the island.

race horses

He trains horses that race on Saturdays.

herd of horses

A herd of horses crossed the road.

Synonyms and how they differ

steeds

Steeds is a literary word for horses, used in stories and poems.

mounts

Mounts means horses that people ride, not horses in general.

ponies

Ponies are smaller than horses, usually under a certain height.

mares

Mares are female horses only, so the term is narrower.

Word family

horse noun

singular form

horseback noun

the back of a horse, as in riding on horseback

horsepower noun

a unit of engine power

horseman noun

a man who rides horses

horsey adjective

fond of horses

Commonly confused: horses or hoarse?

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “horses”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Explore more words