as in cowhands
a hired hand who tends cattle or horses at a ranch or on the range
cowboys were rounding up the cattle for branding
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Recent Examples of cowboys
The Baqueano Cultural Experience is a highlight, with Patagonian cowboys and cowgirls providing visitors a peek into their life, teaching them how to saddle and ride horses before sitting down for some maté herbal tea and pumpkin bread with fresh salsa.
—
Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 3 Mar. 2026
Today, there are only a handful of cowboys who own their own land in this area.
—Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2026
That unlikely combo provides a compelling opportunity for DiCaprio to sample a few lines of indigenous dialogue with his character’s offspring, and suggests a unique complication of the traditional cowboys-and-Indians trope through a revisionist lens.
—Eric Kohn, IndieWire, 25 Feb. 2026
This week, Valley 101 podcast explores the history and modern-day legacy of Black cowboys in the state.
—Amanda Luberto, AZCentral.com, 23 Feb. 2026
The Mexican cowboys became adept at everything from calving to branding to overseeing the kind of long-distance cattle drives that later became a staple of the western.
—Foreign Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2026
Though the original denim heads were arguably the miners, builders, farmers and cowboys from the mid-1850s until WWII, who wore raw denim as a practical uniform, Karrer said.
—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 18 Feb. 2026
Over his long career, Robert Duvall brought a wide range of characters to life, from tough Marines to wistful, tender-hearted cowboys.
—Glen Weldon, NPR, 16 Feb. 2026
All of the daring and courage of the Golden Age films about cowboys, fighters, pilots, and pirates is distilled into the score for the first Indiana Jones movie.
—Alex Galbraith, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Feb. 2026
Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 3 Mar. 2026
Today, there are only a handful of cowboys who own their own land in this area.
—Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 3 Mar. 2026
That unlikely combo provides a compelling opportunity for DiCaprio to sample a few lines of indigenous dialogue with his character’s offspring, and suggests a unique complication of the traditional cowboys-and-Indians trope through a revisionist lens.
—Eric Kohn, IndieWire, 25 Feb. 2026
This week, Valley 101 podcast explores the history and modern-day legacy of Black cowboys in the state.
—Amanda Luberto, AZCentral.com, 23 Feb. 2026
The Mexican cowboys became adept at everything from calving to branding to overseeing the kind of long-distance cattle drives that later became a staple of the western.
—Foreign Correspondent, Los Angeles Times, 23 Feb. 2026
Though the original denim heads were arguably the miners, builders, farmers and cowboys from the mid-1850s until WWII, who wore raw denim as a practical uniform, Karrer said.
—Angela Velasquez, Sourcing Journal, 18 Feb. 2026
Over his long career, Robert Duvall brought a wide range of characters to life, from tough Marines to wistful, tender-hearted cowboys.
—Glen Weldon, NPR, 16 Feb. 2026
All of the daring and courage of the Golden Age films about cowboys, fighters, pilots, and pirates is distilled into the score for the first Indiana Jones movie.
—Alex Galbraith, Entertainment Weekly, 15 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cowboys
cowhands
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
Cite this Entry
“Cowboys.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cowboys. Accessed 8 Mar. 2026.
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