rodeo

[ roh-dee-oh, roh-dey-oh ]
See synonyms for rodeo on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural ro·de·os.
  1. a public exhibition of cowboy skills, as bronco riding and calf roping.

  2. a roundup of cattle.

  1. Informal. any contest offering prizes in various events: a bicycle rodeo for kids under twelve.

  2. (initial capital letter, italics) a ballet (1942) choreographed by Agnes de Mille, with musical score by Aaron Copland.

verb (used without object),ro·de·oed, ro·de·o·ing.
  1. to participate or compete in a rodeo or rodeos: He's been rodeoing since he was twelve.

Origin of rodeo

1
1825–35; <Spanish: cattle ring, derivative of rodear to go round, itself derivative of rueda wheel <Latin rota

Other words from rodeo

  • ro·de·o·er, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use rodeo in a sentence

  • There is no need to hunt the cattle, no periodical rodeos, when the herd is drawn in every night by thirst to the water-supply.

    The Argentine Republic | Pierre Denis

British Dictionary definitions for rodeo

rodeo

/ (ˈrəʊdɪˌəʊ) /


nounplural -os mainly US and Canadian
  1. a display of the skills of cowboys, including bareback riding, steer wrangling, etc

  2. the rounding up of cattle for branding, counting, inspection, etc

  1. an enclosure for cattle that have been rounded up

Origin of rodeo

1
C19: from Spanish, from rodear to go around, from rueda a wheel, from Latin rota

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