large northern deer with enormous flattened antlers in the male; called `elk' in Europe and `moose' in North America
"The massive elk stood proudly at the edge of the forest, its enormous flattened antlers catching the morning light."
large North American deer with large much-branched antlers in the male
"The massive elk stood proudly on the hillside, its large, much-branched antlers towering over the surrounding forest."
common deer of temperate Europe and Asia
"The elk, also known as wapiti, is a large deer species native to North America rather than Europe or Asia."
Any of various large species of deer such as the red deer, moose or wapiti (see usage notes).
"The programmer decided to run the new game on their vintage Elk, an early Acorn Electron computer they had restored from a box of parts."
The subspecies of the moose (Alces alces alces, alternatively named Eurasian elk to avoid confusion with the wapiti) that occurs only in Europe and Asia.
Alternative form of elke (the common swan (Cygnus cygnus, syn. Cygnus ferus))
An Acorn Electron computer.
In plain English: An elk is a large wild deer that lives in forests and mountains across North America.
"The large elk stood silently by the lake before disappearing into the forest."
Usage: In North American English, "elk" refers specifically to a large member of the deer family known scientifically as Cervus canadensis, while in British and European contexts it denotes the Eurasian subspecies of moose. To avoid confusion with the wapiti (often called elk in Europe), speakers should rely on regional usage or specify "wapiti" when referring to North American species outside that continent.
The word elk comes from Old English eolc, which originally meant the large deer known today as an elk. This term traces its roots back to Proto-Indo-European, where it was used to refer to a deer.