bighorn
noun
less common variant of bighorn sheep
: a usually grayish-brown wild sheep (Ovis canadensis) of mountainous and desert regions of western North America
Note: The bighorn sheep has a white patch on the rump and, in the males, massive horns that curve up and back over the ears and then up and forward toward the cheeks.
Examples of bighorn in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The status of the bighorn in Canada is better than in the United States but not much better.
—
Jack O’Connor, Outdoor Life, 4 Sep. 2024
In 1971, there were approximately 3,500 applicants for 27 permits to hunt Washington bighorn.
—Jack O’Connor, Outdoor Life, 4 Sep. 2024
After his death, this man’s best friend told me that the man had never shot a desert bighorn.
—Jack O’Connor, Outdoor Life, 4 Sep. 2024
Herd numbers are expanding in some areas, which increases the chances that a satellite ram looking for love will encounter a domestic sheep or sick bighorn from another herd and bring illness back home.
—Christine Peterson, Outdoor Life, 11 Apr. 2024
The businessman from Plaistow, N.H., was an avid bighorn hunter and purchased several ranches in the Riggins area.
—Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024
Boggan was present when Carrey agreed to sell both his ranch and the bighorn collection to Robert Senter.
—Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024
The curving, winding lines in the desert sand were a dead give away — a pack of coyotes had feasted on the body of this Peninsular bighorn ram.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Dec. 2023
For still-comfortable weather and lighter crowds, aim for June, when baby animals—like bear cubs, wolf puppies, and adorable bighorn fawns—are abundant and waterfalls are at their fullest, or September to mid-October, when aspens turn to gold and elk are bugling.
—Nina Kokotas Hahn, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Nov. 2021
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Jack O’Connor, Outdoor Life, 4 Sep. 2024
In 1971, there were approximately 3,500 applicants for 27 permits to hunt Washington bighorn.
—Jack O’Connor, Outdoor Life, 4 Sep. 2024
After his death, this man’s best friend told me that the man had never shot a desert bighorn.
—Jack O’Connor, Outdoor Life, 4 Sep. 2024
Herd numbers are expanding in some areas, which increases the chances that a satellite ram looking for love will encounter a domestic sheep or sick bighorn from another herd and bring illness back home.
—Christine Peterson, Outdoor Life, 11 Apr. 2024
The businessman from Plaistow, N.H., was an avid bighorn hunter and purchased several ranches in the Riggins area.
—Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024
Boggan was present when Carrey agreed to sell both his ranch and the bighorn collection to Robert Senter.
—Idaho Statesman, 31 Jan. 2024
The curving, winding lines in the desert sand were a dead give away — a pack of coyotes had feasted on the body of this Peninsular bighorn ram.
—Alex Riggins, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Dec. 2023
For still-comfortable weather and lighter crowds, aim for June, when baby animals—like bear cubs, wolf puppies, and adorable bighorn fawns—are abundant and waterfalls are at their fullest, or September to mid-October, when aspens turn to gold and elk are bugling.
—Nina Kokotas Hahn, Condé Nast Traveler, 7 Nov. 2021
Cite this Entry
“Bighorn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bighorn. Accessed 4 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationGeographical Definition
Bighorn
geographical name
Big·horn
ˈbig-ˌhȯrn 
river 336 miles (541 kilometers) long in northern Wyoming and southeastern Montana flowing north into the Yellowstone River see wind
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