- Also called: cowhand a hired man who herds and tends cattle, usually on horseback, esp in the western US
- a conventional character of Wild West folklore, films, etc
- informal a person who is an irresponsible or unscrupulous operator in business
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
cow•boy /ˈkaʊˌbɔɪ/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- a man on horseback who tends cattle:The cowboys branded the calves.
- a reckless vehicle driver:The police never catch the cowboys on the interstate.
cow•boy
(kou′boi′),USA pronunciation n.
v.i.
- a man who herds and tends cattle on a ranch, esp. in the western U.S., and who traditionally goes about most of his work on horseback.
- a man who exhibits the skills attributed to such cowboys, esp. in rodeos.
- Dialect Terms[Chiefly Northeastern U.S.]a reckless or speedy automobile driver.
- Informal Termsa reckless or irresponsible person, esp. a show-off or one who undertakes a dangerous or sensitive task heedlessly:They put foreign policy in the hands of cowboys.
- American History(during the American Revolution) a member of a pro-British guerrilla band that operated between the American and British lines near New York City.
v.i.
- to work as a cowboy.
- cow1 + boy 1715–25
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
cowboy /ˈkaʊˌbɔɪ/ n
'cowboy' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
cowpuncher
- gaucho
- Hoffman
- live
- Schlesinger
- Sloane Ranger
- spaghetti western
- ten-gallon hat
- wrangler
- black hat
- brushpopper
- buckaroo
- charro
- country music
- cowboy boot
- cowboy hat
- cowhand
- cowman
- cowpoke
- driver
- drugstore cowboy
- fan
- hazer
- mossy horn
- paniolo
- Pecos Bill
- rodeo
- rough-and-ready
- trail man
- vaquero
- waddy
- white hat
- shitkicker
- skinner
- sombrero
- staple
- stereotype
- Stetson
- stockrider