an animal with a thick coat, kept on farms for its meat (called mutton or lamb) or its wool 羊；绵羊 
a flock of sheep 一群羊 Sheep were grazing in the fields. 羊在野地里吃草。 sheep farmers 养羊的农民 These leaves are toxic to cattle and sheep. 这些叶子对牛羊有毒。
Extra ExamplesTopics Animalsa1My grandfather used to raise sheep in Australia. 我祖父曾在澳大利亚养过羊。 The dogs herded the sheep into the pen. 狗把羊群赶进了羊圈。 a 4 000-acre sheep station in New South Wales 新南威尔士占地 4,000 英亩的大牧羊场 - (figurative)
He sees it as his duty to take care of the lost sheep of the world. 他视照顾尘世间迷途的羔羊为己任。
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- hill
- mountain
- lost
- …
- flock
- herd
- farm
- keep
- raise
- …
- graze
- bleat
- farm
- ranch
- station
- …
- a breed of sheep
Word OriginOld English scēp, scǣp, scēap, of West Germanic origin; related to Dutch schaap and German Schaf.
Idioms
count sheep
to imagine that sheep are jumping over a fence and to count them, as a way of getting to sleep 数（假想中跳过栅栏的）羊以求入睡
like sheep
- (disapproving)
if people behave like sheep, they all do what the others are doing, without thinking for themselves 盲从
(you, etc.) may/might as well be hanged/hung for a sheep as (for) a lamb
- (saying)
if you are going to be punished for doing something wrong, whether it is a big or small thing, you may as well do the big thing 与其偷羊羔被绞死，不如偷只羊；一不做，二不休
sort out/separate the sheep from the goats
to recognize the difference between people who are good at something, intelligent, etc. and those who are not 区分能手与常人；分清智者和庸人
a wolf in sheep’s clothing
a person who seems to be friendly or not likely to cause any harm but is really an enemy 披着羊皮的狼