Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. A hoofed mammal (Alces alces) found in forests of northern North America and in Eurasia and having a broad, pendulous muzzle and large, palmate antlers in the male.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. An animal of the family Cervidæ, the Cervus alces or Alces malchis of those who hold that it is the same as the elk of Europe; the moose-deer of America, by some considered specifically distinct from the elk of Europe, and then called Alces americana. It is the largest animal of its kind in America, and corresponds to the elk of Europe, being very different from the American elk or wapiti, Elaphus (Cervus) canadensis. The male may attain the height of 17 hands, and weigh 1, 000 pounds or more. The form is very ungainly, with humped withers and sloping quarters, and a very heavy, unshapely head. The horns are enormous and completely palmate, with many short points. A kind of bag or pouch hangs from the throat. The limbs are thick, with broad hoofs; the tail is very short; the ears are large and slouching; and the muzzle is very broad, with a thick pendulous upper lip. The color is brown of variable shade. The female is hornless, and much smaller and more slightly built than the male. The moose inhabits the northernmost part of the United States, as northern New England, and much of British America. The cut at elk is an equally good figure of the moose.
- n. The Alaskan moose has been described as a new species, Alces gigas, distinguished by its larger teeth and antlers, and by other characteristics.
Wiktionary
- n. obsolete, rare A stew.
- n. US The largest member of the deer family (Alces alces), of which the male has very large, palmate antlers.
- n. Plural form of moose.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. (Zoöl.) A large cervine mammal (Alces alces syn. Alces machlis, syn Alces Americanus), native of the Northern United States and Canada. The adult male is about as large as a horse, and has very large, palmate antlers. It closely resembles the European elk, and by many zoölogists is considered the same species. See elk.
- n. Obsolescent. Cant, from the early 1900's. A member of the Progressive Party; a Bull Moose.
- n. A member of the fraternal organization named Loyal Order of Moose.
WordNet 3.0
- n. large northern deer with enormous flattened antlers in the male; called `elk' in Europe and `moose' in North America
Etymologies
- Earlier mus, moos, from a Northeastern Algonquian language (compare Massachusett dialectal / Narragansett moos, Penobscot mos, Abenaki moz), from moos-u ‘he strips, cuts smooth’, from Proto-Algonquian *mō·swa, referring to how a moose strips tree bark when feeding. (Wiktionary)
- Eastern Abenaki mos. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“As I sat before the fire on my fir-twig seat, without walls above or around me, I remembered how far on every hand that wilderness stretched, before you came to cleared or cultivated fields, and wondered if any bear or moose was watching the light of my fire; for nature looked sternly upon me on account of the _murder of the moose_.”
The Continental Monthly, Vol. 6, No 2, August, 1864 Devoted to Literature and National Policy
“The Europeans in Ceylon know it by the name of the "moose deer;" and in all probability the terms _musk_ and _moose_ are both corruptions of the”
“But the moose is a sweetei (not so much though if they munch on your garden ...).”
“It's a little scary (the moose is the worst of it -- even trumps bear) but these sorts of things leave you alone unless you surprise them.”
“Nikkinen believes the moose is a youngster, about a year and a half old. ...”
“According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, the correct plural of "moose" is "moose.”
The Huffington Post: Tallulah Morehead: Survivor 21: Infants vs Senior Citizens: Triage for Dummies.
“Go to www. snopes.com and type in "moose," and look for the entry "moose in wires.”
“Although I believe sportsmen who compete should have the right to own assault weapons whereas a hunter shouldn't because you don't need an M-4 assault rifle to kill a moose from a helicopter like that Quitter Palin in Alaska. na”
“Like if you are going to hunt coyotes in british colombia, use a 257 mag because a wolf, bear, cougar, or moose is going to laugh at you when you shoot it with a 22-250 and its explosive bullets.”
“So the gold-scales were brought from the trading post, while Porportuk went away and came back with a man at his heels, on whose shoulders was a weight of gold-dust in moose-hide sacks.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘moose’.
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• Wordies talk about themselves
Sometimes users are also persons.
llogos, peter stickles, old age, 39, insomnia, frown of approval, chuck norris, ovular, gay, fencing, rabbits, seven empty cups ... and 137 more...
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henryar's list
marmoleum, menagerie, cyan, ochre, pilfer, discombobulate, loquacious, iridescent, amethyst, derelict, botulism, equilibrium and 240 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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animals (1 syllable)
A list of common animal names. Keep the list to 1 syllable words.No scientific names. No proper names like 'Fluffy' the elephant.Insects and other creatures (even ficticious) are welcome!You can ...
dog, cat, bear, bee, ass, ape, horse, squid, bug, hare, hawk, pig and 138 more...
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Deer
family Cervidae
45 specieswater chevrotain, alpine musk deer, Reeves' muntjac, Indian spotted ch..., fallow deer, axis deer, sambar, mule deer, white-tailed deer, marsh deer, Pere David's deer, red deer and 68 more...
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strange plurals
words with unusual plurals - singular form being the plural form, obsolete formations without 's', etc.
shoon, crocket, crotchet, quare, aëtheogamous, binoculars, antelope, luggage, police, furniture, aircraft, macaroni and 32 more...
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Double Letter words
Here is a list of Double Letter Words! Everyone is welcome to add some more words if needed!
bubbles, gallop, wheel, follow, grasshopper, bunny, rabbit, summer, groovy, puppy, fitness, greetings and 65 more...
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From the Algonquin et al.
Words derived from the innumerable languages of native Americans and the First Nations of Canada. I want to shine some light on this underexposed etymological background to so many common (and som...
raccoon, persimmon, mummichog, caucus, bayou, caribou, geoduck, chipmunk, skunk, opossum, moose, squash and 84 more...
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Meats: For All the Carnivores out There
Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!
Just kidding. Kind of.yak, wood pigeon, wild turkey, wild boar, venison, veal, turtle, turkey, squirrel, squab, snail, rattlesnake and 51 more...
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Funny words
Words that have funny sounds or mean funny things
moose, noob, olivary, lubes, sapsuckers, mushroom-headed, grayish-pink, spatula-shaped, comely, slipstream, toad, bulb and 25 more...
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ChortleGiggleSnort
Significant Words- Guiding you on your path to Snazzibility
flimsy, feeble, ranting, ramble, narky, snazzy, yoghurt, bulbous, pustule, globulous, geranium, megalomaniac and 521 more...
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Favorite Tangible Object Words
Trimming the "Chained Bear's Favorites" list so I don't crash people's computers... like my own...
castanets, whaup, budgie, wallabies, ring-wraith, hobbit, chinchilla, guano, merganser, phalarope, phalarope, curlew and 138 more...
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mariposa417's Words
cerulean, jewel, malfeasance, precipice, crossroads, beautiful, adore, sublime, superfluous, poppy, monarch, lashes and 101 more...
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Two years
Okay, I admit it. I made a list of words my daughter knew when she was two years old.
bat, baba, a, abalone, about, acorn, adrienne, after, again, airplane, alison, all and 694 more...
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Allographic Homophones
Words that can be pronounced identically but are spelled differently. I've started with unusual or extensive sets. In some of these sets, no one speaker would pronounce them all the same. I've trie...
air, are, ayr, ayre, e'er, ere, err, eyre, heir, apatite, appetite, picnic and 226 more...
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whitmanian
from the poetry and prose of walt whitman
celebrate, assume, loafe, grass, summer, distillation, atmosphere, undisguised, naked, mad, breath, loveroot and 291 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for moose.

Prolagus Ἄνδ�?α μοι ἔννεπε, Moose... Feb 20, 2009
yarb Looks like this moose has managed to supplant Jean Dimmock at the top of the most-commented list. Well done, moose! Oct 9, 2008
reesetee The Bippo! Thanks for that, skip! You know, though, I had no idea that elk also had clock hands sprouting from their heads. Learn something new every day.
Rolig, thanks for the poem fragment--Bishop is a favorite of mine too. :-) Oct 9, 2008
skipvia Apocryphal is a pretty decent word to describe moose, John, since they look as if they were put together from random ungulate parts with no overall design in mind. But when you see one maneuver in deep snow, they begin to make sense.
I can't believe you lived in Maine and never saw one. The trails around Katahdin are crowded with them. Oct 9, 2008
skipvia This just wouldn't look right with a moose in place of the elk, Pro.
Actually, it looks kind of creepy with the elk, too. Oct 9, 2008
asativum What self-respecting moose would go to Moosehead Lake? Kind of creepy if you're of the moosine persuasion, I would think. Oct 9, 2008
john I lived in Maine for over a decade all told, and I never saw a moose, not once. And I spent a *lot* of time outdoors—frequently at Moosehead Lake. People were constantly telling me, "oh, you just missed this giant moose!" It was galling.
So now you too, eh Skipvia? Even WeirdNet is in on it. You can only fool me for so long about these "moose." Moose are apocryphal. Oct 9, 2008
Prolagus CRAP! I just realized I've been calling elk (British name) this animal for six months, here in America*, and people did not understand me because they thought I was talking about wapitis... that are also known as elks in the US. Oops.
(*I'm involved in a project that deals with them.) Oct 9, 2008
Prolagus It's AWESOME. Oct 9, 2008
skipvia Hey. I know a moose poem, too.
Moose Goosers
How about them Moose goosers, Ain't they recluse?
Up in them boondocks, goosin' them moose.
Goosin' them huge moose, goosin' them tiny,
Goosin them medlin' moose in they hinny!
Look at them Moose goosers, Ain't they dumb?
Some use an umbrella, some use they thumb.
Them obtuse Moose goosers, sneakin' through the woods,
pokin' they snoozey moose in they goods,
How to be a Moose gooser? It'll turn you puce;
Get your gooser loose, and rouse a drowsy moose!
-Mason Williams, The Mason Williams Reading Matter Oct 9, 2008
yarb That poem's a favourite of mine too, rolig. Oct 8, 2008
rolig My apologies for interrupting the conversation, but I can't restrain myself from citing part of one of my favorite poems from one of my favorite poets. The poem is fairly long and I encourage everyone to read the whole thing. The poet describes – amazingly and beautifully – a long bus trip at night through New Brunswick. About four fifths of the way through the poem, the bus makes an unexpected stop:
.........................
Now, it's all right now
even to fall asleep
just as on all those nights.
– Suddenly the bus driver
stops with a jolt,
turns off the lights.
A moose has come out of
the impenetrable wood
and stands there, looms, rather,
in the middle of the road.
It approaches; it sniffs at
the bus's hot hood.
Towering, antlerless,
high as a church,
homely as a house
(or, safe as houses).
A man's voice assures us
"Perfectly harmless. . . ."
Some of the passengers
exclaim in whispers,
childishly, softly,
"Sure are big creatures."
"It's awfully plain."
"Look! It's a she!"
Taking her time,
she looks the bus over,
grand, otherworldly.
Why, why do we feel
(we all feel) this sweet
sensation of joy?
"Curious creatures,"
says our quiet driver,
rolling his r's.
"Look at that, would you."
Then he shifts gears.
For a moment longer,
by craning backward,
the moose can be seen
on the moonlit macadam;
then there's a dim
smell of moose, an acrid
smell of gasoline.
– the last part of "The Moose," by Elizabeth Bishop Oct 8, 2008
reesetee I say the O. I think it's a law here. Oct 8, 2008
dontcry I say O-possum. Then I giggle. Oct 8, 2008
chained_bear I say "possum," skip, and furthermore I recall reading something somewhere at some point saying that it's the general pronunciation to omit the "o." (Not that that detailed and really thoughtful statement is of any use whatsoever.) Oct 8, 2008
yarb I do; well, I say "uh-poss'm". Oct 8, 2008
skipvia Not to change to subject, but does anyone actually pronounce the "o" in opossum? Oct 8, 2008
dontcry I think I have an otter recipe in my fabulous US Regional Cookbook. Let's see.... Nope. That's opossum. Sorry. Oct 8, 2008
chained_bear Ooh, gosh, that is scary. I missed the part about it being IN the swimming hole so I was imagining a terrestrial attack. Thanks for your patient explanation... Oct 8, 2008
trivet The otters were going one way and she was going the other. By the time she realized she had interrupted the otter swimming lessons and turned around, it was too late. The mother otter saw a giant pink thing heading for her babies and attacked. The otter backed off and took her family to an elsewhere once my friend got out of the way. People helped her out of the river and got her to the hospital for stitches and a rabies shot. She's got a scar on her shoulder and a story to tell. I don't know what happened to the otters. My classmate's father vowed vengeance, but I never heard if he was successful. I hope the otters just moved upstream and continued their otter business.
Otters are some of my favorite animals, but I keep my distance, no matter how cuddly Gavin Maxwell makes them seem. Oct 8, 2008
chained_bear Oh no, skipvia, I would never face down a moose. (Especially not, you know... *jingles chains*) I'm generally kindly in my dun-brown gown of fur and my tiara.
Otters tend to flee at my approach though. I don't know if it's the smell, or... *shrugs*
Trivet... what happened, exactly? Oct 8, 2008
bilby She otter been more careful, triv. Oct 8, 2008
reesetee *wishes moose would wander the yard here in PA*
Skip, didn't you also mention here on Wordie a moose crossing your driveway? Wait...ah, yes. It was at ungulate. Oct 8, 2008
trivet A classmate of mine in high school accidentally got between a mother otter and her babies at the swimming hole. There were many stitches. Oct 8, 2008
skipvia No moose worth her dewlap would try and face you down, c_b. :-) Oct 8, 2008
chained_bear Well, if I'd known her calf was there, I would certainly have avoided the place. Oct 8, 2008
skipvia I should mention, lest you think that moose are weenies, that I have seen a cow moose back a brown bear about 200 yards up a ravine to protect her calf. Oct 8, 2008
skipvia That cat was fearless. Utterly fearless. But not very bright. Oct 8, 2008
trivet Skipvia, your cat is pretty much awesome.
*Looks wistfully out the window for a moose* Oct 8, 2008
skipvia If they don't come and check out our garden at least weekly, we worry about them. I just happened to have my camera out when these dropped by. (They were eating the remains of the garden that we pulled up last week when it snowed a bit.)
Our cat once chased two moose from our back yard. Oct 8, 2008
chained_bear *marvels*
Do you have this experience often, skipvia? (Having moose outside your window, I mean.) Oct 7, 2008
skipvia Her brother was nearby but wasn't cooperating with me. Oct 7, 2008
chained_bear AWWWW!! Good pic! Oct 7, 2008
skipvia This young lady is outside my window right now. Oct 7, 2008