An ox is a large, strong animal used for heavy work like pulling plows or wagons. Technically, an ox is a castrated male cow (called a bull before castration) that's been trained to work, though people sometimes use the word more loosely for any cattle used for labor.

For thousands of years, oxen were essential to farming and transportation. They plowed fields, hauled logs, pulled carts loaded with goods, and helped build roads and buildings. A team of oxen could pull loads far too heavy for people to move alone. Even today, some farmers around the world rely on oxen, especially in places where tractors are too expensive or the terrain is too rough for machines.

Oxen are famous for their strength and patience. They move steadily and calmly, rarely getting startled or difficult to control. That's why people chose cattle for this work rather than horses, which are faster but more easily spooked. When someone says a person is “strong as an ox,” they mean that person has remarkable physical strength and endurance.

The plural of ox is oxen, not oxes.