cowboynoun [ C ]
uk/ˈkaʊ.bɔɪ/us/ˈkaʊ.bɔɪ/cowboy noun [ C ] (FARM WORKER)
also cowhand, uk/-hænd/usa person, especially in the western US, whose job is to take care of cattle, and who usually rides a horse, or a similar character in a film:
The ranch employed ten or twelve cowboys.
He was wearing cowboy boots and a cowboy hat.
I don't much like cowboy films/movies.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
People who work with animals
- apiarist
- beekeeper
- cowgirl
- cowherd
- cowman
- dogcatcher
- drove
- gaucho
- goatherd
- herder
- herdsman
- jackaroo
- jillaroo
- shepherd
- shepherdess
- stable boy
cowboy noun [ C ] (DISHONEST PERSON)
UK informal someone who is not honest, careful, or skilful in their trade or business, or someone who ignores rules that most people obey and is therefore not considered to be responsible:
Those builders are a bunch of cowboys - they made a terrible job of our extension.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Dishonest
- bad faith
- be rotten to the core idiom
- be up to no good idiom
- bent
- crooked
- dubious
- false
- finagle
- fishy
- fly-by-night
- malfeasance
- mendacious
- misleading
- perjure
- rich
- underhand
- unreliable
- unscrupulous
- unsporting
- weasel
See more results »
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Inability and awkwardness
Inconsiderate