buckaroo
Americannoun
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Western U.S. a cowboy, especially a broncobuster.
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Older Slang. fellow; guy.
noun
Usage
What does buckaroo mean? Buckaroo is another word for a cowboy. In its most traditional sense, the word cowboy refers to a man who herds and tends cattle on a ranch, especially in the western United States. Cowboys do most of their work on horseback, and buckaroo especially refers to a cowboy considered a broncobuster—meaning one who “breaks in” (tames) broncos and other wild horses so that they can be ridden. Buckaroo is also an older slang term used as a way to refer to a man, much like how the words guy and dude are used, as in Hey, buckaroo, what’s new with you? Example: When I went through a Wild West phase as a kid, I dreamed of living the life of a buckaroo on the range.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of buckaroo
1820–30, earlier bakhara, baccaro, bucharo < Spanish vaquero, equivalent to vac ( a ) cow (< Latin vacca ) + -ero < Latin -ārius -ary; perhaps influenced by buckra; later probably reanalyzed as buck 1 + -eroo
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:
The group disqualifies him, however, after researchers discover his buckaroo abilities are limited to wearing expensive Stetson hats and tripping on his lasso.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 28, 2022
As an adult, she began writing essays about ranching, cooking for cowboys, working as a buckaroo.
From New York Times ● Sep. 26, 2018
Sundays are all-ages, so if you've got a little buckaroo looking to hear some twang, it's the ideal place to push the limits of their bedtime.•
From The Guardian ● Jul. 19, 2013
The Hemingway of Hemingway & Gellhorn, trailers suggest, is an Indiana Jones-style buckaroo raging through war zones, chasing lovely dames, and wisecracking in the spirit of Jack Paar.
From Slate ● Mar. 16, 2012
Still, he sported the habiliments of a full-fledged buckaroo, and he would have to live up to them.
From The Ridin' Kid from Powder River by Brinkerhoff, R. M.
The Supreme Court had already decided that yes, indeed, Texas — which spent a hundred million buckaroos a year on California produce — could throw up its own quarantine on Golden State goods.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2024
I’d have loved to save a couple of hundred buckaroos.
From The Verge ● Mar. 10, 2022
Considering my kitchen is the size of a postage stamp, the grand total came to under a hundred buckaroos.
From Slate ● Nov. 27, 2020
It’s not like in the movies, where the sheriff tells all the buckaroos they can’t ride into town with shooting irons.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 14, 2019
But considering that bat costs 350 buckaroos, it’s clear good ol’ Steph is serious about this sport.
From "Fast Pitch" by Nic Stone
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
