A ewe (pronounced to rhyme with “you”) is a female sheep. While male sheep are called rams and young sheep are called lambs, a ewe is an adult female. Ewes are especially important on farms because they give birth to lambs and produce wool.

In spring, you might see ewes with their newborn lambs following close behind them in pastures. Ewes are protective mothers who recognize their own lambs by sound and smell, even in large flocks. Farmers depend on ewes to grow their flocks, and shepherds have cared for ewes for thousands of years, since sheep were among the first animals humans domesticated.

The word appears in nursery rhymes and children's stories, like “Baa, Baa, Black Sheep,” though the rhyme doesn't specifically mention whether the sheep is a ewe or a ram. In some places, people use ewe as part of affectionate nicknames, playing on how it sounds like “you.”