What does "calf" mean?
A young cow or bull of any bovid, such as domestic cattle or buffalo.
Calf
/kɑːf/ noun, slang
noun, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A young cow or bull of any bovid, such as domestic cattle or buffalo.
- Grammar: calf is listed as noun, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: ankle, aurochs, bayonet legs, bear.
- Useful contrasts: abort, adult bovine, adult cow.
- Usage evidence: The cow gave birth to a calf with two heads.
How to use "calf"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "calf" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "calf" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "calf" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "calf" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "calf" is acting as noun, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "ankle" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "calf", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A young cow or bull of any bovid, such as domestic cattle or buffalo.
"And Goldenhorns calved. A great day in the wilderness, a joy and a delight. They gave her flour-wash, and Isak himself saw to it there was no stint of flour, though he had carried it all the way himself, on his back. And there lay a pretty calf, a beauty, red-flanked like her mother, and comically bewildered at the miracle of coming into the world. In a couple of years she would be having calves of her own."
- 2 The back of the leg below the knee.
- 3 young of domestic cattle wordnet
- 4 Leather made of the skin of domestic calves; especially, a fine, light-coloured leather used in bookbinding.
"We find now, that instead of leather made from sheep, calf, goat, and pig-skins, each having, when finished, its own characteristic surface, that sheepskins are got up to look like calf, morocco, or pigskin; that calf is grained to resemble morocco or so polished and fattened as to have but little character left; while goatskins are grained in any number of ways, and pigskin is often grained like levant morocco. So clever are some of these imitations that it takes a skilled expert to identify a leather when it is on a book. . . I am inclined to consider that calf, as a sound leather, has been manufactured out of existence, for it is unusual to find a 19th century calf binding of more than fifteen years old that does not show signs of decay."
- 5 The muscle in the back of the leg below the knee.
"Sure, his calves are a little weak, but the rest of his physique is so overwhelming, he should place high."
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 young of various large placental mammals e.g. whale or giraffe or elephant or buffalo wordnet
- 7 The young of various animals, especially elephant, giraffe, reindeer, seal, or whale (also indiscriminately used of other animals).
- 8 the muscular back part of the shank wordnet
- 9 A mass of ice broken from a larger glacier, ice shelf, or iceberg.
"1915 (published), 1848 (first written), Elisha Kent Kane, Adrift in the Arctic Ice Pack Our swell ceases with this wind, and the floes seem disposed to come together again; but the days of winter have passed by, and the interposing calves prevent the apposition of the edges"
- 10 fine leather from the skin of a calf wordnet
- 11 A small island, near a larger island.
"Situated in the north of the Irish Sea and to the south-west of the isle of Man, the Calf of Man is ideally placed on the bird migration routes over the western side of the British Isles. Its importance for migrating and breeding birds had been recognised long before the observatory was established in 1959. . . Visitors can explore the Calf as day visitors or can stay in the hostel accommodation. . ."
- 12 A cabless railroad engine.
- 13 An awkward or silly boy or young man; any silly person; a dolt. dated, informal
"some silly, doating, brainless calf"
Synonyms
All synonymsExample
"The cow gave birth to a calf with two heads."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "calf"?
Common synonyms include: ankle, aurochs, bayonet legs, bear, beef, beef cattle.
How do you use "calf" in a sentence?
The cow gave birth to a calf with two heads.
How do you pronounce "calf"?
Pronounced /kɑːf/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English calf, from Anglian Old English cælf, calf (West Saxon ċealf), from Proto-Germanic *kalbaz, further etymology unknown. Cognates * Scots caff (“calf”) * Scots calf (“calf”) * Scots cauf (“calf”) * Scots cawf (“calf”) * North Frisian Kualev (“calf”) * North Frisian kualew (“calf”) * North Frisian kuulew (“calf”) * Saterland Frisian Koolich (“calf”) * West Frisian keal (“calf”) * German Kalb (“calf”) * Luxembourgish Kallef (“calf”) * Limburgish kalf (“calf”) * Dutch kalf (“calf”) * Vilamovian kołb (“calf”) * Vilamovian kołp (“calf”) * Faroese kálvur (“calf”) * Icelandic kálfur (“calf”) * Danish kalv (“calf”) * Norwegian Bokmål kalv (“calf”) * Norwegian Nynorsk kalv (“calf”) * Swedish kalv (“calf”)
Etymology 2
From Middle English calf, kalf, from Old Norse kalfi, possibly derived from the same Germanic root as English calf (“young cow”) (above). Cognate with Icelandic kálfi (“calf of the leg”).