noun
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a bell hung around a cow's neck so that the cow can be easily located
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a metal percussion instrument usually mounted on the bass drum or hand-held and struck with a drumstick
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another name for bladder campion
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of cowbell
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:
But much of the nation is sick of the cowbell, crying out for some economic harmony.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
"The most important thing isn't to win but to take part," she insisted, hoisting the victory cowbell aloft and giving it a ring.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2025
An up-tempo rocker, full of showboating guitar chords and an extremely 1980s cowbell, Hot For You, Baby is a prime example of Turner's raspy, physical style of soul.
From BBC ● Jan. 22, 2025
At the Daily News, where he sometimes walked around the newsroom banging a cowbell, his outsized personality — sometimes bordering on bombast — fit the bill.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2024
A guy sporting a 2S T-shirt with boot-cut jeans rings a cowbell.
From "Legendary Frybread Drive-In" by Cynthia Leitich Smith
Thunder sticks are so loud that they were banned at the World Baseball Classic finals, even as drums, trumpets and cowbells were permitted.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 2026
Von Allmen, however, was a picture of celebration after his storming run, the large number of baying Swiss fans in the packed tribune wildly applauding their hero, flags waved, cowbells heaved and air horns blown.
From Barron's ● Feb. 11, 2026
They showed up with cowbells, confetti, live music—and sometimes beer and caviar?!
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2025
Their appearance was a sensation – combining sheer technical skill with a thrilling joie de vivre, as they span their double basses, twirled their trumpets and clattered their cowbells, all while clad in Venezuelan-flag jackets.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2025
They found Her Grace sewing by the fire, whilst her fool danced about to music only he could hear, the cowbells on his antlers clanging.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
