cow

Word family

Related topics: Animals

cow1 /kaʊ/ S2 noun [countableC]

HBAa large female animal that is kept on farms and used to produce milk or meat 母牛，奶牛 → bull

2 HBAa male or female animal of this type 牛 → bull

a herd of cows

一群牛

3. HBAthe female of some large animals, such as the elephant or the whale 大型雌性动物〔如象、鲸等〕 → bull

4. UNPLEASANT British EnglishBrE spoken not polite an offensive word for a woman who you think is stupid or unpleasant 蠢女人；泼妇

5. have a cow SURPRISED informal to be very angry or surprised about something 非常生气；非常吃惊

Examples from the Corpus

have a cow• Pat had a cow because you didn't tell her about the party.

6. till the cows come home informalLONG TIME for a very long time, or for ever 长时间地；无限期地；永远

Examples from the Corpus

till the cows come home• They stay up and play cards till the cows come home.

→ cash cow , mad cow disease , sacred cow

n COLLOCATIONS

types of cow

dairy cows (=kept for their milk)

He keeps a herd of dairy cows.

beef cows (=kept for their meat)

They are a well-known breed of beef cow.

verbs

milk a cow (=get the milk from a cow)

Once a day, the cows are brought in to be milked.

a cow moos (=makes a long low sound)

I could hear cows mooing in the barn.

a cow grazes (=eats the grass)

Cows were grazing peacefully in the meadows.

a cow calves (=produces a calf, a young cow)

At this time of year the cows are calving.

phrases

a herd of cows (=a group that are together somewhere)

We had to wait while a farmer brought a herd of cows across the bridge.

Examples from the Corpus

cow• Arizona Game and Fish is offering a $ 500 reward for information on a cow elk poaching near Payson about April 17.• Suet, I believe, is cow fat.• This part of West London seemed like the country to me, with none of the disadvantages, no cows or farmers.• a field full of cows• As the cows waited for their turn, the milk fell in drops on the ground.

cow2 verb [transitiveT]

THREATENto frighten someone in order to make them do something 恐吓，威胁

be cowed into something

The protesters had been cowed into submission by the police.

抗议者在警察的威胁下屈服了。

n Grammar

Cow is usually passive.

Examples from the Corpus

cow• He should have been cowed and compromised by fear and debt, but he was not.• She was a big ill-tempered animal cowed by a presence more threatening and a temper more volatile than her own.• Yet they do not appear to have been cowed by systems or professionals.• The men might be cowed for the time being.• Dissidents were cowed into silence by the army.• Rather than jump to morbid conclusions, I let him cow me into accepting his version of the incident.• And maybe they would be cowed not only by the discipline but by the man who wielded it.• For decades it has cowed public employees, left them docile, passive, and bitter.

cowed into submission• They - whoever they were - had underestimated her if they thought she could be cowed into submission by threats and violence.

Origin cow1

Old English cu

cow2

(1500-1600) Probably from a Scandinavian language