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draft animal

draft animal

1 3.9
An animal like a horse or ox that pulls heavy loads on a farm
  • noun
  • /dræft ˈænɪməl/
  • US
translation icon : animal de tiro
  • Farmers rely heavily on draft animals like horses and oxen to help pull heavy loads.
  • use of draft animals

Examples

  • Families and tribes struggled with packs of belongings, wailing young, scampering litters, and obstinate draft animals.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • The Ngok Dinka, however, strongly opposed the use of draft animals, preferring tractors as more modern and culturally acceptable.

    Academic text (1998)
  • And you can do it largely with local materials, hand tools, and draft animals.

    Blog text (21)
  • How many draft animals did you have working on your farm?

    Blog text (5)
  • Do residents commonly use draft animals, or do they call only on themselves to power simple tools?

    Academic text (2011)
  • Similarly, in parts of the world where draft animals perform work, they need food as their energy sources.

    Blog text (21)
  • As there were no draft animals, Maya armies would have to carry all of their own equipment and food.

  • In some parts of Africa, draft animals cannot be used at all due to infectious or parasitic diseases.

    Academic text (2001)
  • The farmers, unable to afford draft animals or tractors for plowing, consistently reported declining yields.

    Academic text (1990)
  • A farmer and his draft animal must trudge approximately sixty kilometers to put a single hectare into production (Cleaver 1982).

    Academic text (1992)

Synonyms

ox
vsdraft animal
20 1.0

A large male cattle made unable to breed and used to pull heavy farm tools

is the broad category of creatures used to pull loads or do farm work
beast of burden
vsdraft animal
5 3.4

An animal like a donkey or ox that people use to carry heavy loads

is focused on farm work and field tasks rather than general transport
plow horse
vsdraft animal
  • Archaic
3 4.0

A horse that pulls a plow on a farm

applies to pulling or farm work in general, not only implement use
draft horse
vsdraft animal
  • US
1 3.8

A large strong horse that pulls heavy loads like a cart or plow

is any creature used for pulling or farm work, not only large breeds
workhorse
vsdraft animal
1 3.4

A strong horse used to pull heavy loads on a farm

refers more generally to any creature doing pulling work on farms
work animal
vsdraft animal
1 2.8

A trained creature people use to pull and carry heavy loads like horses or oxen

is the general term for any creature used to pull loads or work on farms
carthorse
vsdraft animal
1 7.7

A large strong animal that pulls heavy carts or wagons

covers pulling and farm duties more broadly, not just vehicle hauling
water ox
vsdraft animal
  • Indian
7.5

A large Asian animal like a buffalo used for pulling heavy loads

is a general name for any creature used to pull heavy loads on farms

Antonyms

pet
754 1.0

An animal kept at home for company and enjoyment

A person or animal who stays with and supports you in hard times

How Strong

ox
6 1.0
draft animal
  • US
1 3.9
horse
1.0
mule
98 3.7
pony
  • Jargon
18 7.2
sled dog
  • UK
6 2.7

Surface Forms

draft animal singular
draft animals plural

Morphology

draft + animal

The meaning 'an animal used for pulling heavy loads' is directly derivable from combining 'draft' (drawing or pulling a load) with 'animal' (a living creature). This transparent noun–noun composition is common cross-linguistically and follows regular English compounding, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will readily infer the MWE meaning.

Etymology

Draft animal comes from old farming: the word draft meant 'to pull' and the animal did the pulling of plows or carts, so the phrase means 'an animal used for pulling heavy loads'.