elk

/ɛlk/

/ɛlk/

Other forms: elks

An elk is an animal that's one of the largest member of the deer family. A male elk's antlers can be up to four feet tall.

Though smaller than a moose, which is the biggest member of the Cervidae family, an elk towers above most of its deer relations. Male elk, also known as bulls, are famous for their towering antlers, which they shed every spring before growing new ones. Elk is from a Germanic root; these hoofed mammals are also known as wapiti, or "light-skinned deer" from an Algoquan language.

Definitions of elk

1. noun

   large North American deer with large much-branched antlers in the male
   synonyms: American elk, Cervus elaphus canadensis, wapiti

   type of:

   cervid, deer

   distinguished from Bovidae by the male's having solid deciduous antlers
2. noun

   common deer of temperate Europe and Asia
   synonyms: American elk, Cervus elaphus, red deer, wapiti

   types:

   hart, stag

   a male deer, especially an adult male red deer

   hind

   a female deer, especially an adult female red deer

   brocket

   male red deer in its second year

   type of:

   cervid, deer

   distinguished from Bovidae by the male's having solid deciduous antlers
3. noun

   large northern deer with enormous flattened antlers in the male; called `elk' in Europe and `moose' in North America
   synonyms: Alces alces, European elk, moose

   type of:

   cervid, deer

   distinguished from Bovidae by the male's having solid deciduous antlers