Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

Buffalo Bill

American  
Buffalo Bill British  

noun

  1. nickname of William Frederick Cody . 1846–1917, US showman who toured Europe and the US with his famous Wild West Show

"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

Buffalo Bill 1 Cultural  
  1. William F. Cody, an American adventurer, soldier, and showman of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. His popular “Wild West Show,” begun in the 1880s, featured acts such as the marksmanship of Annie Oakley, mock battles between Native Americans and army troops, and breathtaking displays of cowboy skills and horsemanship. It toured the United States, Canada, and Europe.


Buffalo Bill 2 Cultural  
  1. William F. Cody, a frontier settler, scout, and soldier of the nineteenth century. He was involved in several military actions against Native Americans and later turned to entertainment, founding the celebrated “Wild West Show.” (See also under “Fine Arts.”)


Discover More

Buffalo Bill's “Wild West Show” was a major influence in the creation of the popular image of the romantic and exciting old West.

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:

This was also the heyday of traveling extravaganzas like Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West shows, which featured hundreds of performers re-enacting frontier battles and showing off their hunting and sharpshooting skills.

From The Wall Street Journal Feb. 15, 2026

His character in 1982's Tootsie was similarly lacking in redeeming qualities, as was the title character of Buffalo Bill, the NBC sitcom Mr Coleman later starred in.

From BBC May 17, 2024

You’ve got a lot of people who are making journeys — Buffalo Bill Cody, Buffalo Jones.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 15, 2023

The former Buffalo Bill veteran was signed as a free agent in the offseason and the team is counting on him to replace Nick Gates at center.

From Seattle Times Aug. 7, 2022

Buffalo Bill, resplendent in white buckskin and silver, was there to greet him, along with the rest of the Wild West company and ten thousand or so residents of Chicago.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training