sheep
Pluralsheep
- 1A woolly, cud-chewing mammal kept in flocks for its wool, meat, and milk; also a related wild species.
The flock had grown to over two hundred sheep by lambing season.
A healthy sheep can produce several kilograms of wool each year.
UsageThe plural is also sheep: two hundred sheep (not
incorrect: sheeps).Note
Most often the word means the domestic species Ovis aries, but zoologists and everyday speakers alike also use it for the whole genus Ovis, wild species included, as in bighorn sheep.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- The domestic sheep species is Ovis aries. en.wikipedia.org
- Ovis is a genus whose species are known as sheep, including wild species. en.wikipedia.org
- Bighorn sheep are wild members of Ovis. en.wikipedia.org
- 2A meek, easily led person who follows the crowd instead of using their own judgment.
Like a leaf carried along by whatever current happens to catch it.
The committee was full of sheep who never questioned the chairman's decisions.
She refused to be a sheep and voted against the popular motion.
UsageOften follow someone like sheep. Calling someone a sheep is an insult.
Similarmouse
Oppositeleader, maverick, nonconformist, individualist
- 3A religious follower; a member of a congregation or faith community under the care of a spiritual leader.
After thirty years in the parish, the old priest still worried about the sheep who had stopped coming to Mass.
The new minister spent his first month visiting his sheep in their homes across the parish.
UsageOften with a possessive: a pastor and his sheep.
Similarparishioner, follower, believer, congregant
Note
Church language turns a congregation into a flock, and this sense mostly appears in the plural, beside that word. Inside a religious setting the image is one of care. Outside it the same image can turn scornful and slide toward the easily led follower. Megadeth's 1990 song "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due," written by Dave Mustaine, does exactly this, casting believers caught up in religious violence as sheep.
Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- Megadeth released the song "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due" in 1990. en.wikipedia.org
- Dave Mustaine wrote the song. megadeth.com
- The song casts believers involved in religious violence as sheep, as the note interprets its lyrics. megadeth.com
Practice
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Origin
Inherited from Middle English schep, from Old English sċēp/sċēap, going back to Proto-Germanic *skēpą, whose ultimate origin is unknown. It may perhaps come from a Scythian word, or from the root of Proto-Germanic *skabaną ("to scratch"). It is related to Dutch schaap and German Schaf.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 6 facts
- Sheep is inherited from Middle English schep, from Old English sċēp/sċēap. en.wiktionary.org
- The Old English word descends from Proto-Germanic *skēpą. en.wiktionary.org
- The ultimate origin of Proto-Germanic *skēpą is unknown. en.wiktionary.org
- A Scythian source has been proposed as a possible origin. en.wiktionary.org
- Derivation from the root of Proto-Germanic *skabaną, meaning 'to scratch', is another proposed origin. en.wiktionary.org
- Sheep is cognate with Dutch schaap and German Schaf. en.wiktionary.org