beast of burden
/ˈbiːst əv ˈbɝdn̩/ noun
Forms beasts of burden
- noun A domestic animal that performs heavy work for humans, such as carrying a load (on its body) or pulling a load (which trails behind).
- noun (by extension) Any domestic animal trained to perform other tasks for humans, such as a herding dog or trained falcon.
- noun (by extension, figurative, chiefly in the negative) A person who is mistreated by being inappropriately treated like a servant. “Get it yourself. I'm not your beast of burden.”
Synonyms
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “beast of burden”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details