Bovine means relating to cattle, like cows, oxen, and buffalo. Scientists use this word when talking about the whole family of animals that includes domestic cattle and their wild relatives. A veterinarian might discuss bovine diseases, while a biologist studies bovine behavior on the grasslands.

These animals have been essential to human civilization for thousands of years, providing milk, meat, leather, and muscle power for plowing fields and pulling wagons. Before tractors existed, farmers relied on the strength of bovine animals to work their land.

People also use bovine to describe someone acting slow, dull, or showing a cow-like lack of expression. If a teacher says a student has a bovine stare, they mean the student looks blank and unresponsive, like a cow chewing cud in a field. This usage isn't meant kindly: calling someone's expression bovine suggests they seem mentally checked out.

The related word bovid refers to the larger family that includes not just cattle but also sheep, goats, and antelopes.