A deer is a large wild animal that eats grass and leaves. A male deer usually has large, branching horns.
deer in British English
(dɪə)
nounWord forms: pluraldeer or deers
1.
any ruminant artiodactyl mammal of the family Cervidae, including reindeer, elk, muntjacs, and roe deer, typically having antlers in the male
▶ Related adjective: cervine
2. (in N Canada) another name for caribou
Word origin
Old English dēor beast; related to Old High German tior wild beast, Old Norse dӯr
deer in American English
(dɪr)
nounWord forms: pluraldeer or deers
1.
any of a family (Cervidae) of ruminants, including the elk, moose, and reindeer; esp., the smaller species, as the white-tailed deer and mule deer: in most species, usually only the males grow and shed bony antlers annually
2. Obsolete
any animal; beast
Word origin
ME der < OE deor, wild animal, akin to Ger tier, ON dȳr < IE base *dhewes, *dheus-, to stir up, blow, breathe (> dusk, doze1, fury): for sense development cf. animal
We passed salmon rivers, grouse, wild deer and a eagle that took a shine to drone.
The Sun (2016)
Wild red deer have been hunted for both sport and food here for centuries.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Look out for deer and wild boar.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
Look through the curved window and you can see deer roaming wild.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Its two bedrooms sleep up to four people and there are wild deer in the surrounding countryside.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It is as wild as a deer.
Frederick Marryat The Children of the New Forest (1847)
Another reason for the increase is the growing number of wild deer.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
There were deer and elk in the forest, too.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
In the wild she would live in northern China and learn to hunt deer and wild boar.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
Suddenly a large buck deer leapt across the road in front of the car and I slammed on the brakes.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
Red deer are our largest land mammals, so it's quite a sight!
The Sun (2013)
There are 12,500 trees making up new woodland, in which roe deer can be spotted.
Times, Sunday Times (2012)
Red squirrel, badger, mink and roe deer live in the reserve.
Perring, Franklyn A Guide to Britain's Conservation Heritage (1991)
The auctioneer's podium faced a wall hung with six sets of mounted antlers each side of a large red deer's head.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
In large numbers deer destroy land, forestry and natural habitats, and need to be culled to keep control of the numbers.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Word lists with
deer
related adjectives, collective nouns, male animals, female animals, baby and young animals
In other languages
deer
British English: deer /dɪə/ NOUN
A deer is a large wild animal. Male deer usually have large, branching horns.
American English: deer
Arabic: أَيَّل
Brazilian Portuguese: veado
Chinese: 鹿
Croatian: jelen
Czech: jelen
Danish: hjort
Dutch: hert
European Spanish: ciervo
Finnish: hirvieläin
French: biche
German: Reh
Greek: ελάφι
Italian: cervo
Japanese: シカ
Korean: 사슴
Norwegian: hjort
Polish: jeleń
European Portuguese: veado
Romanian: cerb
Russian: олень
Latin American Spanish: ciervo
Swedish: hjort
Thai: กวาง
Turkish: geyik
Ukrainian: олень
Vietnamese: con hươu
All related terms of 'deer'
axis deer
an Asian deer , Cervus ( Axis ) axis , of India and Sri Lanka, having a reddish-brown coat spotted with white
deer fern
a common tufted erect fern of the polypody family, Blechnum spicant, having dark-green lanceolate leaves: it prefers acid soils, and in the US is sometimes grown as deer feed
deer fly
any of several tabanid flies of the genus Chrysops , the female of which is a vector of tularemia in deer , livestock , and humans
deer lick
a naturally or artificially salty area of ground where deer come to lick the salt
deer tick
a tick that is parasitic on deer ; esp., any of a genus ( Ixodes ) of ticks that transmit the spirochete causing Lyme disease
mule deer
a W North American deer , Odocoileus hemionus , with long ears and a black-tipped tail
musk deer
a small central Asian mountain deer , Moschus moschiferus. The male has long tusklike canine teeth and secretes musk
red deer
a large deer , Cervus elaphus , formerly widely distributed in the woodlands of Europe and Asia . The coat is reddish-brown in summer and the short tail is surrounded by a patch of light-coloured hair
roe deer
A roe deer is a small deer which lives in woods in Europe and Asia.
deer mouse
any of various mice of the genus Peromyscus, esp P . maniculatus, of North and Central America , having brownish fur with white underparts : family Cricetidae
fallow deer
A fallow deer is a small deer that has a reddish coat which develops white spots in summer.
marsh deer
a large South American deer , Blastocerus dichotomus , that lives in forests near rivers and swamps : an endangered species
mouse deer
→ chevrotain
barking deer
any small Asian deer of the genus Muntiacus, typically having a chestnut-brown coat, small antlers , and a barklike cry
spotted deer
See axis deer
Virginia deer
→ white-tailed deer
deer population
If you refer to a particular type of population in a country or area, you are referring to all the people or animals of that type there.
blacktailed deer
a mule deer, esp. the subspecies ( Odocoileus hemionus columbianus ) found from N Calif. to British Columbia
Red Deer Lake
a lake in Manitoba , Canada
roe
Roe is the eggs or sperm of a fish, which is eaten as food.
Chinese water deer
a small Chinese or Korean deer , Hydropotes inermis, having tusks and no antlers : introduced into England and France
Père David's deer
a large grey deer , Elaphurus davidianus, surviving only in captivity as descendants of a herd preserved in the Imperial hunting park near Beijing
white-tailed deer
a deer , Odocoileus virginianus, of North America and N South America: the coat varies in colour, being typically reddish-brown in the summer , and the tail is white
deerweed
a shrub, Lotus scoparius , that is native to California and produces small yellow flowers in the summer
meadow beauty
any of a genus ( Rhexia ) of perennial North American plants of the melastome family, with pink or lavender flowers and large stamens
sika
a Japanese forest-dwelling deer , Cervus nippon , having a brown coat, spotted with white in summer , and a large white patch on the rump
hard fern
a common tufted erect fern of the polypody family, Blechnum spicant, having dark-green lanceolate leaves: it prefers acid soils , and in the US is sometimes grown as deer feed