Cattle (colloquially cows) are the most common type of large domesticated ungulates. They are a prominent modern member of the subfamily Bovinae, are the most widespread species of the genus Bos, and are most commonly classified collectively as Bos primigenius.

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Cattle are raised as livestock for meat (beef and veal), as dairy animals for milk and other dairy products, and as draft animals (oxen / bullocks) (pulling carts, plows and the like). Other products include leather and dung for manure or fuel. In some countries, such as India, cattle are sacred.

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From as few as eighty progenitors domesticated in southeast Turkey about 10,500 years ago,[2] it is estimated that there are now 1.3 billion cattle in the world today.[3] In 2009, cattle became the first livestock animal to have its genome mapped.[4]