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
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Recent Examples of cowboy
Tim Blake Nelson sets the stage beautifully with his opening bit about a singing cowboy, but there are a number of scene-stealers here including Harry Melling, Tom Waits, and Bill Heck.
—
Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2025
Santino is the Italian cowboy who is instrumental in beating Buffalo Bill’s team.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 18 Dec. 2024
As the sun set, young cowboys proved their mettle by riding half-wild broncos, the muscles of both man and beast straining to prevail.
—Caleb Gayle, The Atlantic, 17 Dec. 2024
Growing up south of Dallas-Fort Worth as the descendant of horse-raising cowboys directly impacts how folk, country, soul and rock uniquely intertwine to form his sound.
—Audrey Gibbs, The Tennessean, 29 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for cowboy 
Brian Tallerico, Vulture, 2 Jan. 2025
Santino is the Italian cowboy who is instrumental in beating Buffalo Bill’s team.
—Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 18 Dec. 2024
As the sun set, young cowboys proved their mettle by riding half-wild broncos, the muscles of both man and beast straining to prevail.
—Caleb Gayle, The Atlantic, 17 Dec. 2024
Growing up south of Dallas-Fort Worth as the descendant of horse-raising cowboys directly impacts how folk, country, soul and rock uniquely intertwine to form his sound.
—Audrey Gibbs, The Tennessean, 29 Dec. 2024
See all Example Sentences for cowboy
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cowboy
Noun
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Younger kids can choose from a selection of small plates portioned for cowpokes.—
Outside Online,
Outside Online,
17 July 2024
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His fictional protagonists have included ornery cowpokes and professors of esoterica.—
The New Yorker,
The New Yorker,
12 June 2024
Noun
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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
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Houston is also home to the rodeo, the country’s oldest Black trail ride, and Black cowboy culture — in 1800s Texas, one in four cowhands were Black.—
Maria Sherman,
Fortune,
29 Mar. 2024
Noun
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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
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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
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Bella Hadid has returned from playing the starring role in Rodeo and Juliet–a sort of real-life rom-com where an international supermodel falls in love with a simple Texan cowman and realizes there is a life beyond New York, London, Paris and Milan–and is (more importantly) back in capri pants.—
Daniel Rodgers,
Vogue,
2 May 2024
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McGuinn’s handshake indicated that, indeed, the farmer and the cowman, or the country traditionalist and the Byrd-man, could be friends.—
Chris Willman,
Variety,
16 Jan. 2022
Noun
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Farmers and ranchers in Texas aren’t anticipating long-term damage to their crops as a result of the cold, and some drier areas in the state could see benefits from the snow, Gary Joiner, a spokesperson for the Texas Farm Bureau, told USA TODAY.—
Karissa Waddick,
USA TODAY,
24 Jan. 2025
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The pilot program has paid water users — mostly farmers and ranchers — in the four states in the Colorado River’s Upper Basin to voluntarily use less river water than their water rights allow.—
Elise Schmelzer,
The Denver Post,
23 Jan. 2025
Noun
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In Mexico, a charro is a horseman from the countryside with a history dating back to the 16th century.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
13 Jan. 2025
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Not only with beauty, of course; impatient rulers liked that Vajrayana promised enlightenment in one lifetime, as opposed to the usual Buddhist dozens, and Kublai Khan spread its teachings as far as his horsemen could ride.—
Jackson Arn,
The New Yorker,
2 Jan. 2025
Thesaurus Entries Near cowboy
Cite this Entry
“Cowboy.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cowboy. Accessed 3 Feb. 2025.
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