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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

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“When Phil Jackson called us a cow town, we leaned into it pretty heavy,” Fippin said.

From Washington Post • Apr. 15, 2023

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

She grew up in a literal cow town, Fort Worth, where she was a football cheerleader, and her activism took root at her small Quaker college, Earlham.

From New York Times • Nov. 20, 2021

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)

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