as in shepherd
a tender of livestock
a lone herdsman stood with his sheep and his dog on the hillside
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Recent Examples of herdsman
Masud was celebrated as the literary voice of greater Arabia’s nomadic herdsmen—proud sons of the desert, a noble caste of unhurried sybarites not known for their religious orthodoxy.
—
Nell Zink, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
In 1997, Thimphu told Beijing that Tibetan herdsmen had been intruding into the Jakarlung valley and even constructed sheds there, according to Bhutan’s National Assembly records cited by Barnett.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN, 5 Nov. 2024
Unlike the Islamic extremists that staged the Chibok kidnappings, the deadly criminal gangs terrorizing villages in northwestern Nigeria are mostly former herdsmen who were in conflict with farming host communities, according to authorities.
—Chinedu Asadu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Apr. 2024
Moreover, an annual migration of people and cattle that regularly leads to tension between nomadic herdsmen and the area's year-round residents recently began.
—Rebecca Hamilton, Foreign Affairs, 20 Jan. 2011
See All Example Sentences for herdsman
Nell Zink, Harper's Magazine, 28 Feb. 2025
In 1997, Thimphu told Beijing that Tibetan herdsmen had been intruding into the Jakarlung valley and even constructed sheds there, according to Bhutan’s National Assembly records cited by Barnett.
—Simone McCarthy, CNN, 5 Nov. 2024
Unlike the Islamic extremists that staged the Chibok kidnappings, the deadly criminal gangs terrorizing villages in northwestern Nigeria are mostly former herdsmen who were in conflict with farming host communities, according to authorities.
—Chinedu Asadu, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Apr. 2024
Moreover, an annual migration of people and cattle that regularly leads to tension between nomadic herdsmen and the area's year-round residents recently began.
—Rebecca Hamilton, Foreign Affairs, 20 Jan. 2011
See All Example Sentences for herdsman
Recent Examples of Synonyms for herdsman
Noun
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Scar, a blue merle Australian shepherd, was trained by his owner to be a medical alert and light mobility service dog.—
Liz O'Connell,
MSNBC Newsweek,
31 Oct. 2025
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Zuriguel and his colleagues worked with a shepherd in the mountains outside the city of Zaragoza to run a hundred sheep at a time through a doorway to receive food on the other side.—
Ari Daniel,
NPR,
27 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Previous discoveries of cremations in Africa date to pastoral neolithic herders from 3,500 years ago or later food-producing societies with higher population densities, which made the discovery even more unexpected, the researchers said.—
Ashley Strickland,
CNN Money,
6 Jan. 2026
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There are religiously motivated ones targeting both Christians and Muslims, clashes between farmers and herders over dwindling resources, communal rivalries, secessionist groups and ethnic clashes.—
Fortune,
Fortune,
26 Dec. 2025
Noun
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Two hundred cowboys led the parade, all of whom worked for the Kansas City Stockyards.—
Patrick Salland,
Kansas City Star,
7 Nov. 2025
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Tapping into this 2025 obsession, Miron Crosby, a leader in fashion-forward cowboy boots, has teamed up with luxury label Carolina Herrera on a two-boot collection that honors both the cowboy and the sophisticate inside of you.—
Stacia Datskovska,
Footwear News,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Herdsman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/herdsman. Accessed 8 Jan. 2026.
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