Meanings
- uncountableusuallywith onThe back of an ox (being ridden, or laden with luggage, as a means of transportation).
Grenfell had travelled 1,000 miles on oxback; a new experience to him, but a most con venient manner of getting over the country. [Photo of a man riding an ox.] GRENFELL ON OXBACK
1900, William Holman Bentley, Pioneering on the Congo, page 2241 more example
3. A bushman on oxback, and our guide on horseback. 4. My wagon and ten oxen. 5. Our flock of sheep and goats. 6. Our third wagon and ten oxen. 7. The chief and his son, on oxback. 8. Our spare oxen.
1841, Robert Philip, The life, times, and missionary enterprises, of the rev. John Campbell, page 441
Origin
From ox + back, modelled on horseback.
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
oxback. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oxback
“oxback.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oxback. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “oxback,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/oxback.
Source: oxback on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.