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# oxbow

noun (oxbow, oxbows); adjective use (oxbow lake)

«oxbow» in the English dictionary: everyday — its meanings, how the lessons use it, and examples, each with its tree on Mova.

## Everyday

1. An oxbow (oxbow lake) is a curved lake that forms when a bend (meander) of a river is cut off from the main river. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oxbow/#m1)
2. An oxbow is also a big U-shaped bend in a river. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oxbow/#m2)
3. An oxbow is a U-shaped wooden collar that fits around an ox's neck to fix it to a yoke. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oxbow/#m3)

### In the lessons

In geography lessons, oxbow lakes are a classic feature of rivers in their lower course: erosion on the outside of meanders and deposition on the inside slowly cut off a loop, especially in floods. Pupils draw diagrams of how an oxbow lake forms. Common phrases: «oxbow lake», «form an oxbow», «meander and oxbow».

### Examples

- An oxbow lake forms when a meander is cut off. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oxbow/#x1)
- We drew a diagram of how an oxbow lake forms. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oxbow/#x2)
- The Mississippi River has many oxbow lakes. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oxbow/#x3)
- Ducks swam on the quiet oxbow. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oxbow/#x4)
- The flood cut through the neck of the meander and made an oxbow. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oxbow/#x5)
- The farmer's old ox wore a wooden oxbow. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oxbow/#x6)
- Oxbow lakes slowly fill with mud and plants. [tree →](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oxbow/#x7)

### Note

Plural: oxbows. A compound of «ox» + «bow» (bow rhymes with «go»). The lake gets its name because its curve looks like the U-shaped oxbow collar.

## On Mova

- [Trees and pragmatics of «oxbow» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/O/oxbow/): every meaning and example parsed by Mova, with its dependency tree and frames.
- [«oxbow» in the school dictionary](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/oxbow.html) on Mova free.