as in cowpoke
a hired hand who tends cattle or horses at a ranch or on the range cowboys were rounding up the cattle for branding

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of cowboy Ethan’s also a bit of a cowboy, and all of those things come together to form Lee Raybon. Alison Herman, Variety, 5 Nov. 2025 Wallace’s first Texas Monthly cover story was about Myrtis Dightman, the first Black cowboy to qualify for The National Finals Rodeo. Brayden Garcia, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Nov. 2025 McGuane’s cowboys lose fights—for women, for their ranches, for their dreams—and tend to know when they’ve been beaten. Tyler Austin Harper, The Atlantic, 30 Oct. 2025 Just before the Texas road trip, Camela Kay said, Eric Kay bought an $800 cowboy outfit the family couldn’t afford. Sean Emery, Oc Register, 28 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for cowboy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cowboy
Noun
  • The Player’s Guide details how to build a character, whether its just a common cowpoke or one of the more unusual options like a huckster or blessed.
    Rob Wieland, Forbes.com, 29 May 2025
  • It’s been ten weeks since the robbery, and Theresa and Shermy the dog are the last two urban cowpokes standing at the old makeshift homestead motel.
    Andy Andersen, Vulture, 18 Apr. 2025
Noun
  • There are plenty of places to take a horse, with experienced cowhands to guide the way.
    Jenny Peters, Oc Register, 9 Sep. 2025
  • Now, the ranch is proactively using drones equipped with speakers and bright lights as stand-in cowhands, WSJ reported.
    Rachel Raposas, People.com, 5 Aug. 2025
Noun
  • Joe worked as a cowpuncher in Flagler, Colo., making $150 a day tending to cattle on horseback.
    Jose A. Del Real, Washington Post, 6 Nov. 2022
Noun
  • There are muddy buckaroo boots worn by some lucky child, and the tiny boots of Major Lynn White (1838-1915), then the world’s smallest man.
    Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 3 Sep. 2025
  • The group disqualifies him, however, after researchers discover his buckaroo abilities are limited to wearing expensive Stetson hats and tripping on his lasso.
    Gustavo ArellanoColumnist, Los Angeles Times, 28 Dec. 2022
Noun
  • The entries this year range from a photograph of a horseman at sunset in Turkey, spotted between large rocks that appeared to form a natural stage, to a bird's-eye view of thousands gathering at the Ganges River in India to celebrate the body of water as a source of life.
    NPR, NPR, 27 Oct. 2025
  • Three horsemen burst forth from the ranch, setting off a flurry of gunfire.
    Davis Winkie, USA Today, 14 Oct. 2025
Noun
  • The picture-perfect cowman’s paradise of Stockyards City is true to its stripes—and nowhere is this more evident than in Cattlemen’s Steakhouse.
    Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 29 Mar. 2025
  • The reply of my friend and hunting companion was one of those quaint, rasping epithets which only a cowman can manage when everything has gone wrong.
    Frank C. Hibben, Outdoor Life, 27 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • Inspired by the classic American rancher style, it is crafted with exceptional construction and timeless design.
    Nora Colomer may earn a commission if you buy through our referral links. This content was created by a team that works independently from the Fox newsroom., FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2025
  • Trump’s recent suggestion that the US start importing the country’s beef, which farm-state lawmakers fear could wallop cattle-rancher constituents.
    Eleanor Mueller, semafor.com, 22 Oct. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Cowboy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cowboy. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.

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