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 During a recent appearance on Ty Harris' Lets Freakin' Rodeo podcast, the legendary cowboy reflected on the origin of the moniker, the PRCA shared in their tribute. Angel Saunders, People.com, 30 Apr. 2025 Western Wear Designer Dymond Taylor Dating a cowboy opened her eyes to an opportunity in Houston. Tariro Mzezewa, New York Times, 2 May 2025 Expect food vendors, family-friendly activities and special tributes to the cowboys who came before. Jasmine Desiree, Los Angeles Times, 22 Apr. 2025 For now, that environment — those cowboy towns — is exactly where Munsick wants to be. Josh Crutchmer, Rolling Stone, 20 Apr. 2025 See All Example Sentences for cowboy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cowboy
Noun
  • 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
  • Younger kids can choose from a selection of small plates portioned for cowpokes.
    Outside Online, Outside Online, 17 July 2024
Noun
  • Things are also taking a turn for the worse in Texas, where Runs His Horse successfully tracks down the ranch cowhands that interrupted Pete and Teonna’s tryst.
    Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 9 Mar. 2025
  • The term Cowboy became widely popular for the trade and subsequently was whitewashed to then exclude Black cowhands from the history books.
    Stephanie Tharpe, Forbes, 25 Dec. 2024
Noun
  • The Supreme Court had already decided that yes, indeed, Texas — which spent a hundred million buckaroos a year on California produce — could throw up its own quarantine on Golden State goods.
    Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2024
  • 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 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
  • Colorado ranchers continue to oppose the reintroduction over concerns of wolves killing livestock, and CPW commissioners earlier this year denied a petition brought by ranchers that sought to delay the program.
    Max Levy, Denver Post, 16 May 2025
  • Enter fellow local outcast, rancher Lefty Ledbetter (Hauser), who just might have the funds to get out of town…if the theft of a coveted Indigenous Lakota ghost shirt goes through.
    Samantha Bergeson, IndieWire, 15 May 2025
Noun
  • The four horsemen of Big Tech — Apple, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft — all report earnings this week, and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
    Catherine Baab, Quartz, 29 Apr. 2025
  • That frontier epic, set at the turn of the 20th century, followed three horsemen who set out across the Tierra del Fuego archipelago tasked with securing a wealthy landowner’s vast property.
    Diana Lodderhose, Deadline, 1 Apr. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Cowboy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cowboy. Accessed 28 May. 2025.

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