reindeer

[ reyn-deer ]

noun,plural rein·deer, (occasionally) rein·deers.
  1. any of several large deer of the genus Rangifer, of northern and Arctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America, both male and female of which have antlers.

Origin of reindeer

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English raynder(e), from Old Norse hreindȳri, equivalent to hreinn “reindeer” + dȳr “animal” (cognate with deer)

Words Nearby reindeer

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use reindeer in a sentence

  • The reindeer swam through the deep water and waded out to the opposite bank.

    The Later Cave-Men | Katharine Elizabeth Dopp
  • Soon the ford was filled, and the reindeer began to press up the narrow river valley.

    The Later Cave-Men | Katharine Elizabeth Dopp
  • The flat sandy banks on one side of the river were already covered with reindeer.

    The Later Cave-Men | Katharine Elizabeth Dopp
  • There they waited to spear the reindeer, while others hid behind rocks near the entrance to drive the reindeer on.

    The Later Cave-Men | Katharine Elizabeth Dopp
  • When Scarface was very old he made a shaft-straightener of a piece of reindeer horn.

    The Later Cave-Men | Katharine Elizabeth Dopp

British Dictionary definitions for reindeer

reindeer

/ (ˈreɪnˌdɪə) /


nounplural -deer or -deers
  1. a large deer, Rangifer tarandus, having large branched antlers in the male and female and inhabiting the arctic regions of Greenland, Europe, and Asia. It also occurs in North America, where it is known as a caribou

Origin of reindeer

1
C14: from Old Norse hreindӯri, from hreinn reindeer + dyr animal; related to Dutch rendier, German Rentier; see deer

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012