Words / A1

Y-AK/jæk/

A yak is a large hairy animal like a cow, from high mountains in Asia; it has long hair and curved horns. Countable: a yak, yaks. A cow is less hairy and lives on ordinary farms; a buffalo also has horns but a different shape and shorter hair. Mix-up: yak vs yack / yak as informal talk (to chatter) — same spelling sometimes, different picture; and yak vs pack (a bag).

Meaning

A large hairy animal like a cow, from the mountains of Asia.

Examples

• “The yak has a thick coat of hair.”
• “The yak walked slowly through the snow.”
• “Yaks give milk in the mountain villages.”

Good to know

a yak (hairy mountain cow). Contrast: cow (farm, less hair), buffalo (different horns). Mix-up: yak = chatter.

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