ranch hand

noun

variants or less commonly ranchhand

ˈranch-ˌhand 

plural ranch hands also ranchhands

: a person employed to do general tasks (such as structural upkeep and caring for animals) on a ranch

After a time as a ranch hand making $10 per hour, she worked her way up to become director of equestrian operations for the property.

—Carol McKinley

Ranch hands are busily checking fences, feeding animals, and cutting hay.

—Rhonda Jessup

Word History

First Known Use

1857, in the meaning defined above