ox yoke
Wooden cattle crossbar
An ox yoke is a wooden frame fitted across the necks of a pair of oxen, enabling them to pull a plow, cart, or other load together.
The yoke distributes the weight of the load across both animals and keeps them working in unison.
Yokes vary by region—some rest on the neck, others behind the horns.
Figuratively, a yoke suggests burden or bondage, drawing from this oldest agricultural meaning.
- plowTool for turning soil
- breaking groundStarting work on site
- draftPreliminary version of text
- woodenMade from timber
- beamStructural support member
cattle · team · pulling together · furrow · field · burden · pair · beast of burden · working animal · collar · hitched · pulling · heavy lifting · farmstead · farm equipment · tillage · neck · leather
- frontier gearax, axe, canteen, covered wagon, hatchet
- ox drivinggoad, oxbow, gee, haw, whoa
- farm toolspitchfork, hoe, rake, shovel, plow
- wagonswagon, covered wagon, Conestoga wagon, prairie schooner, buckboard
- pulling gearwinch, pulley, block and tackle, tow rope, tow strap
- harness equipmenthorse collar, traces, reins, bit, breeching
ox yokehorse collar
Padded harness for draft animals
horse harness · harness · traces · pack saddle · bridle
ox yokefreedom
Absence of constraint
liberation · unyoked · unshackling · free range · released