What does oxbow mean?
An oxbow is a pronounced U-shaped or horseshoe-shaped bend in a river. Rivers that meander across flat land can create looping bends, and if the water later cuts across the narrow neck of one loop, the abandoned channel may remain as a crescent-shaped oxbow lake. The word can also refer more generally to an object or curve with a similar shape. Oxbows are especially noticeable in floodplains and other low-lying landscapes, where they often contain still or slow-moving water and provide habitat for wetland birds and plants. The term is well established in geography, ecology, and descriptions of rivers, although “oxbow lake” is the more specific expression for a separated remnant. Its combination of a clear visual image and a distinctive history makes it a useful word for describing both the shape of a landscape feature and the traces left by a river's changing course.
nounA U-shaped or horseshoe-shaped bend in a river, or the crescent-shaped remnant of a former river bend, commonly called an oxbow lake. More generally, it can refer to an object or curve with a similar shape.
- A U-shaped or horseshoe-shaped bend in a river.
- The crescent-shaped remnant of a former river bend, usually called an oxbow lake.
- A curved or U-shaped object resembling an oxbow.
"The oxbow was visible from the ridge, its still water cutting a broad curve through the surrounding meadow."
"The river gradually carved a deep oxbow into the floodplain."
"Herons were wading in the oxbow lake beside the old river channel."
The standard plural of the noun is “oxbows.”
"Several oxbows are scattered across the floodplain."
An oxbow is the quiet aftermath of a river's old looping path: when the river cuts through the loop, the abandoned curve can remain as a crescent-shaped lake.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does oxbow come from?
The compound dates from the early modern period and combines the words “ox” and “bow,” originally referring to a bow-shaped piece of an ox yoke. It was later applied to a river's curved bend because of the resemblance between the shape and the bow of an ox yoke. The modern geographical use developed from that literal description of a curved form.
How oxbow is actually used
The word is chiefly geographical but can be used more generally for a strongly curved, U-shaped feature. In American English, “oxbow lake” is especially common for the isolated remnant of a former bend.