oxbow

pronunciation

How to pronounce oxbow in British English: UK [ˈɒksbəʊ]word uk audio image

How to pronounce oxbow in American English: US [ ˈɑːksboʊ] word us audio image

  • Noun:
    the land inside an oxbow bend in a river
    a U-shaped curve in a stream
    a wooden framework bent in the shape of a U; its upper ends are attached to the horizontal yoke and the loop goes around the neck of an ox

Word Origin

oxbow (n.)
also ox-bow, mid-14c., "wooden collar for an ox," from ox + bow (n.1). Meaning "semicircular bend in a river" is from 1797, American English (New England); meaning "curved lake left after an oxbow meander has been cut off by a change in the river course" is from 1898. The reference is to similarity of shape.

Example

1. Oxbow lakes , the floodplain , dry streams and tributaries , waves beating against the shore .
2. William founded his own energy company oxbow and turned to yachting ; he spent an estimated sixty-five million dollars to win the america 's cup in 1992 .
3. Oxbow bend , grand teton national park , wyoming ( mark lissick )
4. Oxbow corp. , a mining and energy company based in west palm beach , fla. , is the single largest contributor to a super pac founded to help mr. romney .
5. For me , the problem with reintroducing beavers to scotland , where they haven 't lived for 400 years , is that pretty soon the highlands will be a broken and desolate place full of nothing but poisoned oxbow lakes , dead deer and grouse moors that look like the uae 's empty quarter .

more: >How to Use "oxbow" with Example Sentences