as in cowboy
a hired hand who tends cattle or horses at a ranch or on the range
it takes a long time to train a good cowpoke
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Recent Examples of cowpoke
His fictional protagonists have included ornery cowpokes and professors of esoterica.
—
The New Yorker, 12 June 2024
Real 19th-century cowpokes typically dressed in heavy canvas trousers, bowlers and wore rawhide chaps as armor against thorny vegetation and the general filth of the job.
—Guy Trebay, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2024
In the video, directed by Nicki Fletcher and Mason Allen, the two women walk around a rodeo as men ride bucking broncos, Murph raps a little, and the two women end up telling the cowpokes off.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 9 June 2023
Order this: The two-meat place is a cowpoke’s delight.
—Matt Wake | Mwake@al.com, al, 6 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for cowpoke
The New Yorker, 12 June 2024
Real 19th-century cowpokes typically dressed in heavy canvas trousers, bowlers and wore rawhide chaps as armor against thorny vegetation and the general filth of the job.
—Guy Trebay, New York Times, 23 Apr. 2024
In the video, directed by Nicki Fletcher and Mason Allen, the two women walk around a rodeo as men ride bucking broncos, Murph raps a little, and the two women end up telling the cowpokes off.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 9 June 2023
Order this: The two-meat place is a cowpoke’s delight.
—Matt Wake | Mwake@al.com, al, 6 June 2023
See All Example Sentences for cowpoke
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cowpoke
cowboy
Noun
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The Blackhawks were torn on whether to take the cowboy defenseman or the flashy forward with the second overall pick in the 2024 draft, and ultimately settled on Levshunov.—
Mark Lazerus,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
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Indeed, shortly after the 2016 historical drama Hidden Figures — in which Costner played neither a cowboy nor a water-faring mutant but a NASA scientist — the actor landed that rarest of opportunities in Hollywood, a shot at redemption.—
Peter Kiefer,
HollywoodReporter,
8 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cowpoke.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cowpoke. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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