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look a gift horse in the mouth

 - 6 dictionary results
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horse

  [hawrs] noun, plural hors⋅es, (especially collectively) horse, verb, horsed, hors⋅ing, adjective
Use look a gift horse in the mouth in a Sentence
–noun
1. a large, solid-hoofed, herbivorous quadruped, Equus caballus, domesticated since prehistoric times, bred in a number of varieties, and used for carrying or pulling loads, for riding, and for racing.
2. a fully mature male animal of this type; stallion.
3. any of several odd-toed ungulates belonging to the family Equidae, including the horse, zebra, donkey, and ass, having a thick, flat coat with a narrow mane along the back of the neck and bearing the weight on only one functioning digit, the third, which is widened into a round or spade-shaped hoof.
4. something on which a person rides, sits, or exercises, as if astride the back of such an animal: rocking horse.
5. Also called trestle. a frame, block, etc., with legs, on which something is mounted or supported.
6. Gymnastics.
a. vaulting horse.
b. pommel horse.
7. Carpentry. carriage (def. 7).
8. soldiers serving on horseback; cavalry: a thousand horse.
9. Slang. a man; fellow.
10. Often, horses. Informal. horsepower.
11. horses, Slang. the power or capacity to accomplish something, as by having enough money, personnel, or expertise: Our small company doesn't have the horses to compete against a giant corporation.
12. Chess Informal. a knight.
13. Slang. a crib, translation, or other illicit aid to a student's recitation; trot; pony.
14. Mining. a mass of rock enclosed within a lode or vein.
15. Nautical. traveler (def. 6b).
16. Shipbuilding. a mold of a curved frame, esp. one used when the complexity of the curves requires laying out at full size.
17. Slang. heroin.
–verb (used with object)
18. to provide with a horse or horses.
19. to set on horseback.
20. to set or carry on a person's back or on one's own back.
21. Carpentry. to cut notches for steps into (a carriage beam).
22. to move with great physical effort or force: It took three men to horse the trunk up the stairs.
23. Slang.
a. to make (a person) the target of boisterous jokes.
b. to perform boisterously, as a part or a scene in a play.
24. Nautical.
a. to caulk (a vessel) with a hammer.
b. to work or haze (a sailor) cruelly or unfairly.
25. Archaic. to place (someone) on a person's back, in order to be flogged.
–verb (used without object)
26. to mount or go on a horse.
27. (of a mare) to be in heat.
28. Vulgar. to have coitus.
–adjective
29. of, for, or pertaining to a horse or horses: the horse family; a horse blanket.
30. drawn or powered by a horse or horses.
31. mounted or serving on horses: horse troops.
32. unusually large.
—Verb phrase
33. horse around, Slang. to fool around; indulge in horseplay.
—Idioms
34. back the wrong horse, to be mistaken in judgment, esp. in backing a losing candidate.
35. beat or flog a dead horse, to attempt to revive a discussion, topic, or idea that has waned, been exhausted, or proved fruitless.
36. from the horse's mouth, Informal. on good authority; from the original or a trustworthy source: I have it straight from the horse's mouth that the boss is retiring.
37. hold one's horses, Informal. to check one's impulsiveness; be patient or calm: Hold your horses! I'm almost ready.
38. horse of another color, something entirely different. Also, horse of a different color.
39. look a gift horse in the mouth, to be critical of a gift.
40. To horse! Mount your horse! Ride!
Origin:
bef. 900; (n.) ME, OE hors; c. ON hross, D ros, G Ross (MHG ros, OHG hros); (v.) ME horsen to provide with horses, OE horsian, deriv. of the n.

Related forms:
horseless, adjective
horselike, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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look   (lŏŏk)   
v.   looked, look·ing, looks

v.   intr.

    1. To employ one's sight, especially in a given direction or on a given object: looking out the window; looked at the floor.

    2. To search: We looked all afternoon but could not find it.

    3. To turn one's glance or gaze: looked to the right.

    4. To turn one's attention; attend: looked to his neglected guitar during vacation; looked at the evidence.

    5. To turn one's expectations: looked to us for a solution.

    1. To turn one's glance or gaze: looked to the right.

    2. To turn one's attention; attend: looked to his neglected guitar during vacation; looked at the evidence.

    3. To turn one's expectations: looked to us for a solution.

  3. To seem or appear to be: look morose. See Synonyms at seem.

  4. To face in a specified direction: The cottage looks on the river.

v.   tr.

  1. To turn one's eyes on: looked him in the eye.

  2. To convey by one's expression: looked annoyance at the judge; looked his devotion to me.

    1. To have an appearance of conformity with: He looks his age. She dressed up to look the part.

    2. To appear to be: looked the fool in one version of the story.

n.  

    1. The act or instance of looking: I took just one look and I was sure.

    2. A gaze or glance expressive of something: gave her a mournful look.

    3. Appearance or aspect: a look of great age.

    4. looks Physical appearance, especially when pleasing.

    5. A distinctive, unified manner of dress or fashion: the preferred look for this fall.

    1. Appearance or aspect: a look of great age.

    2. looks Physical appearance, especially when pleasing.

    3. A distinctive, unified manner of dress or fashion: the preferred look for this fall.

  3. To search for; seek: looking for my gloves.

  4. To expect: Look for a change of weather in March.

  5. To expect or hope to: He looked to hear from her within a week.

  6. To seem about to; promise to: "an 'Action Program,' which ... looked to reduce tariffs on over 1,800 items" (Alan D. Romberg).

  7. To search for and find, as in a reference book.

  8. To visit: look up an old friend.

  9. To become better; improve: Things are at last looking up.

Phrasal Verb(s):
look afterTo take care of: looked after his younger brother.
look for

  1. To search for; seek: looking for my gloves.

  2. To expect: Look for a change of weather in March.

look intoTo inquire into; investigate: The police looked into the disturbance.
look on/uponTo regard in a certain way: looked on them as incompetents.
look outTo be watchful or careful; take care: If you don't look out, you may fall on the ice. We looked out for each other on the trip.
look overTo examine or inspect, often in hasty fashion: looked over the proposal before the meeting.
look to Usage Problem

  1. To expect or hope to: He looked to hear from her within a week.

  2. To seem about to; promise to: "an 'Action Program,' which ... looked to reduce tariffs on over 1,800 items" (Alan D. Romberg).

look up

  1. To search for and find, as in a reference book.

  2. To visit: look up an old friend.

  3. To become better; improve: Things are at last looking up.


Idiom(s):
look a gift horse in the mouth Informal To be critical or suspicious of something one has received without expense.

Idiom(s):
look alive/sharp Informal To act or respond quickly: Look alive! We leave in five minutes.

Idiom(s):
look down on/uponTo regard with contempt or condescension.

Idiom(s):
look down (one's) nose at/onTo regard with contempt or condescension.

Idiom(s):
look forward toTo think of (a future event) with pleasurable, eager anticipation: looking forward to graduation.

Idiom(s):
look in onTo visit: I look in on my grandparents each weekend.

Idiom(s):
look the other wayTo deliberately overlook something: knew the student was cheating but decided to look the other way.

Idiom(s):
look up toTo admire: looked up to her mother.

[Middle English loken, from Old English lōcian.]
Usage Note: The phrasal verb look to has recently developed the meanings "expect to" and "hope to," as in The executives look to increase sales once the economy improves or I'm looking to sell my car in July. In a recent survey, the Usage Panel was divided almost evenly on this usage, with 52 percent of the Panelists finding it acceptable and 48 percent rejecting it. Of those rejecting this usage, a small number volunteered that they would find it acceptable in informal speech, and in fact the divided response of the Panel may be due in part to the informal flavor of this phrase.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Slang Dictionary
horse

  1. n.
    heroin. (Drugs. Because it begins with H.) : Horse is still very popular in the big cities.
  2. n.
    horse dung. : I got a job shoveling horse out of the stables.
Dictionary of American Slang and Colloquial Expressions by Richard A. Spears.Fourth Edition.
Copyright 2007. Published by McGraw Hill.
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Word Origin & History

horse 
O.E. hors, from P.Gmc. *khursa- (cf. O.N. hross, O.Fris. hors, M.Du. ors, Du. ros, O.H.G. hros, Ger. Roß "horse"), of unknown origin, connected by some with PIE base *kurs-, source of L. currere "to run" (see current). Replaced O.E. eoh, from PIE *ekwo- "horse" (cf. Gk. hippos, L. equus, O.Ir. ech, Goth. aihwa-, Skt. açva-, all meaning "horse"). In many other languages, as in O.E., this root has been lost in favor of synonyms, probably via superstitious taboo on uttering the name of an animal so important in I.E. religion. Used since at least 1391 of various devices or appliances which suggest a horse (e.g. sawhorse). Slang for heroin is first attested 1950. Horseplay is from 1589. The belief that finding a horseshoe by chance is lucky is attested from late 14c. Horse latitudes first attested 1777, the name of unknown origin, despite much speculation. Dead horse as a figure for "something that has ceased to be useful" is attested from 1638. High horse originally (c.1380) was "war horse, charger;" fig. sense in mount (one's) high horse "affect airs of superiority" is from 1782. The horse's mouth as a source of reliable information is from 1928, perhaps from the fact that a horse's age can be determined accurately by looking at its teeth. To swap horses while crossing the river (a bad idea) is first attested 1864 in writings of Abraham Lincoln. Horse sense is 1870, Amer.Eng. colloquial, probably from the same association of "strong, large, coarse" found in horseradish.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Medical Dictionary

Main Entry: horse
Pronunciation: 'ho(&)rs
Function: noun
Inflected Form: plural hors·es also horse
: a largesolid-hoofed herbivorous mammal of the genus Equus (E. caballus) domesticated since a prehistoric period
Merriam-Webster's Medical Dictionary, © 2002 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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Idioms & Phrases

look a gift horse in the mouth

Be critical or suspicious of something received at no cost. For example, Dad's old car is full of dents, but we shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth. This term, generally expressed as a cautionary proverb (Don't look a gift horse in the mouth), has been traced to the writings of the 4th-century cleric, St. Jerome, and has appeared in English since about 1500. It alludes to determining the age of a horse by looking at its teeth.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of Idioms by Christine Ammer.
Copyright © 1997. Published by Houghton Mifflin.
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