horse

Concise Oxford English Dictionary © 2008 Oxford University Press:
horse/hɔːs/

▶noun

• 1 a solid-hoofed plant-eating quadruped with a flowing mane and tail, domesticated for riding and as a draught animal. [Equus caballus and other species, family Equidae.]

  ■ an adult male horse, as opposed to a mare or colt.

  ■ [treated as sing. or pl.] cavalry.

• 2 a frame or structure on which something is mounted or supported, especially a sawhorse.

  ■ Nautical a horizontal bar, rail, or rope in the rigging of a sailing ship.

• 3 informal a unit of horsepower.

• 4 informal heroin.

• 5 Mining an obstruction in a vein.

▶verb

• 1 provide with a horse or horses.

• 2 (horse around/about) informal fool about.

– phrases
from the horse's mouth (of information) from an authoritative source.

– derivatives
horseless adjective,
horse-like adjective.

– origin OE hors, of Gmc origin.