herder

noun

herd·​er ˈhər-dər How to pronounce herder (audio)
: one that herds
specifically : a person who manages, breeds, or tends to livestock : herdsman sense 1

Examples of herder in a Sentence

the nomadic reindeer herders of Siberia live in reindeer-skin tents
Recent Examples on the Web Meanwhile, Ios only got electricity across the entire island in the 1970s and most residents here are goat herders or farmers. Devorah Lev-Tov, Condé Nast Traveler, 14 Nov. 2023 Roaming the surrounding hillsides with several thousand sheep, and sometimes roughing up Palestinian herders who got in their way, a handful of committed Israeli herders quickly established a civilian presence across a much larger area. Gabby Sobelman, New York Times, 3 Oct. 2023 The violence has displaced at least 15 Palestinian herder communities, comprising nearly 1000 people, more than 300 of them children, the U.N. says. Alexander Smith, NBC News, 3 Nov. 2023 After a snow leopard kills nine rams owned by a herder, a bitter conflict ensues between the herder who wants to kill the snow leopard and the father who wants to release it. Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 10 Oct. 2023 Comprising only 10 percent of the Sami population, the herders continue this practice today — breeding reindeer for fur, transportation and meat. Allison Futterman, Discover Magazine, 9 Oct. 2023 The fragile coexistence of farmers and herders began to break down. Alex De Waal, Foreign Affairs, 18 Sep. 2023 Watch Now 30 Brokeback Mountain (2005) Brokeback Mountain Official Trailer #1 - Randy Quaid Movie (2005) HD Watch on Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal play two cowboys who fall in love while working as sheep herders. Christine Giordano, Women's Health, 27 Aug. 2023 It is said area cattlemen, who wanted the sheep and the herders gone, named the spring Borrego, which colloquially can also mean fool. San Diego Union-Tribune, 2 Oct. 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'herder.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1635, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of herder was in 1635

Dictionary Entries Near herder

Cite this Entry

“Herder.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/herder. Accessed 29 Nov. 2023.

Biographical Definition

Herder

biographical name

Her·​der ˈher-dər How to pronounce Herder (audio)
Johann Gottfried von 1744–1803 German philosopher

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