musk ox

noun

An Arctic mammal, Ovibos moschatus of the Caprinae subfamily of the family Bovidae, having a thick coat and long curved horns.

Similar
musk sheepOvibos moschatus
Ask AI about this wordChatGPTClaudePerplexityGoogle AIGrok

Meanings

nounmusk ox (plural musk oxen)

plural musk oxen · alternative muskox

  1. An Arctic mammal, Ovibos moschatus of the Caprinae subfamily of the family Bovidae, having a thick coat and long curved horns.

    Its ʽcore faunaʼ consisted of the woolly mammoth, woolly rhino, saiga, muskox and the arctic fox. All except the woolly rhino evolved in the northern Arctic, and all had been evolving for several million years before their modern forms appeared.

    2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 205

Synonyms & antonyms

nounlarge shaggy-coated bovid mammal of Canada and Greenland; intermediate in size and anatomy between an ox and a sheep

Similar
musk sheepOvibos moschatus
Broader
bovid

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

So called because of the strong odour, or musk, emitted by the males during the rutting season.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian мускусен бик
  • мускусен бик (muskusen bik)Arctic mammal
Catalan bou mesquer
  • bou mesquerArctic mammal
Chinese Mandarin 麝牛
  • 麝牛 (shèniú)Arctic mammal
Czech pižmoň
  • pižmoňArctic mammal
Danish moskusokse
  • moskusokseArctic mammal
Dutch muskusos
  • muskusosArctic mammal
Estonian muskusveis
  • muskusveisArctic mammal
Finnish myskihärkä
  • myskihärkäArctic mammal
French bœuf musqué
  • bœuf musquéArctic mammal
German Moschusochse
  • MoschusochseArctic mammal
Greek μοσχόβους, προβατόβους ο μοσχοφόρος
  • μοσχόβους (moschóvous)Arctic mammal
  • προβατόβους ο μοσχοφόρος (provatóvous o moschofóros)Arctic mammal
Icelandic sauðnaut
  • sauðnautArctic mammal
Italian bue muschiato
  • bue muschiatoArctic mammal
Japanese 麝香牛
  • 麝香牛 (jakōushi)Arctic mammal
Korean 사향소
  • 사향소 (sahyangso)Arctic mammal
Norwegian Bokmål moskusfe, moskusokse
  • moskusfeArctic mammal
  • moskusokseArctic mammal
  • moskusArctic mammal
  • moskuskuArctic mammal
Polish piżmowół, piżmowół arktyczny
  • piżmowółArctic mammal
  • piżmowół arktycznyArctic mammal
  • wół piżmowyArctic mammal
Portuguese boi-almiscarado
  • boi-almiscaradoArctic mammal
Romanian bou moscat
  • bou moscatArctic mammal
Russian овцебы́к, му́скусный бык
  • овцебы́к (ovcebýk)Arctic mammal
  • му́скусный бык (múskusnyj byk)Arctic mammal
Spanish buey almizclero
  • buey almizcleroArctic mammal
Swedish myskoxe
  • myskoxeArctic mammal
Turkish misk öküzü
  • misk öküzüArctic mammal
Vietnamese bò xạ hương
  • bò xạ hươngArctic mammal
Cite this entry
APA

musk ox. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/musk%20ox

MLA

“musk ox.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/musk%20ox. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “musk ox,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/musk%20ox.

Source: musk ox on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.