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Synonyms

herdsman

American  
[hurdz-muhn] / ˈhɜrdz mən /

noun

  • herdsmen
    plural
  1. a herder; the keeper of a herd, especially of cattle or sheep.

  2. Astronomy. Herdsman, the constellation Boötes.


herdsman British  
/ ˈhɜːdzmən /

noun

  1. US equivalent: herder. a person who breeds, rears, or cares for cattle or (rarely) other livestock in the herd

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of herdsman

First recorded in 1595–1605; herd 1 + 's 1 + -man; compare earlier herdman, Middle English hird-man, Old English hyrdemann

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

On this recent evening, the puppeteer Kennedy Kanagawa was out sick, but his understudy, Cameron Johnson, was an able herdsman for Jack’s pal, Milky White.

From New York Times ● Jul. 10, 2022

Now at 31, he is the herdsman and co-manages the dairy farm alongside his father.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 27, 2021

Farmers and herders once lived harmoniously on Nigeria’s bucolic central plateau, but when Amos Lenji, a farmer, caught a young herdsman grazing cattle in his cornfields this October, he feared for his life.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 10, 2018

It is to be expected that each herdsman will try to keep as many cattle as possible on the commons.

From Textbooks ● Sep. 6, 2018

Often he was able to enter her presence in disguise, now as a rude reaper bringing her a basket of barley-ears, now as a clumsy herdsman, or a vine-pruner.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

Or her Delhi architecture school days, when she was too broke for jewellery and wore "cow beads" - fat glass beads strung across cow horns, bought off herdsmen near the hostel.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2025

New study by ICTA-UAB and the University of Cádiz reveals that the first farmers and herdsmen settled in Andalusia collected and consumed shellfish throughout the year, especially in winter.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 15, 2024

Such attacks are common in many parts of Nigeria’s northern region where local herdsmen have clashed in the past with farmers over limited access to land and water.

From Seattle Times ● Jul. 9, 2023

Rio Tinto's mining of copper and gold in the Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia have also raised concerns with local herdsmen.

From Salon ● Apr. 18, 2023

A smith could make a shield which showed on its surface a lion hunt, two lions devouring a bull while herdsmen urged their dogs on to attack them.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

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