cow town
Americannoun
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a small town, especially one in a cattle-raising district in the western U.S. or Canada.
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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
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
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
Marshal Wyatt Earp brings law and order to the Kansas cow town, starting with a ban on guns.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 13, 2020
A local politician posted a message on Facebook: “Not a cow town anymore.”
From Washington Post • Apr. 18, 2015
Aside from this fact, a cowboy disdains setting his foot on the ground except in a cow town, and even there daring ones sometimes rode their animals into saloons and demanded their drinks.
From The Free Range by Duer, Douglas
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.
