cow town

American  

noun

1. a small town, especially one in a cattle-raising district in the western U.S. or Canada.

2. a town or city, especially in the western U.S. or Canada, from which cattle are shipped to market.

---

Etymology

Origin of cow town

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

The family moved from Arizona to Germany to England before settling in Davenport, a tiny cow town in eastern Washington.

From Science Magazine • Jul. 20, 2022

While Green Bay was fawning and bowing to the demands of a diva, the Broncos got a quarterback capable of changing everything for the long-suffering football team in our dusty old cow town.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 8, 2022

“Hopefully, it brings more diversity to the city, so we’re not so much known as a cow town or strictly country music city. I’m quite looking forward to it opening.”

From Washington Post • Jul. 6, 2016

Sometimes, I think I live in a cow town.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 3, 2016

The man he observed was enough to attract any one's notice, even in the cosmopolitan cow town of San Felipe.

From Kid Wolf of Texas by Powers, Paul S. (Paul Sylvester)