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Strong as an ox

Idiomatic Phrase
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Strong as an ox describes exceptional physical strength or endurance; in heroic poetry, it symbolizes power, resilience, or the brute force that contrasts with intellectual or emotional subtlety.

Detailed Definition
Strong as an ox means physically powerful, robust, and capable of heavy labour. In poetry, the idiom draws on rural and animal imagery to express bodily strength, endurance, and usefulness. It can characterise workers, parents, soldiers, heroes, or animals, but may also be used tenderly when strength coexists with gentleness. A poet may contrast such physical force with emotional vulnerability, age, illness, or social exploitation. The phrase is useful for exploring labour, resilience, and the dignity of bodily power.
Example
Example in poetry:
A pastoral poem might describe the ploughman as strong as an ox beneath the noon sun; In comic verse, the grandmother is strong as an ox when lifting moral burdens and laundry baskets; The phrase means very strong; A poet can use it for physical or emotional strength.
Additional Notes
Strong as an ox describes great physical strength, endurance, or sturdy reliability. In poetry, it can be admiring, rustic, comic, or reductive, depending on whether the person is valued only for labour. The ox evokes agriculture, patience, burdens, and slow power. Students should ask whether strength includes gentleness, obedience, exploitation, or dignity. It pairs well with fields, yokes, ploughs, shoulders, and bodies built by work.
Also Known As
very strong
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