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
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.
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
They walked through the remains Wednesday and took solace in what they could find among the wreckage — a cowbell, a Franciscan Apple china teacup and a Virgin Mary statue.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 11, 2025
That is really what Aarwangen's cowbell row is about.
From BBC • Nov. 2, 2023
All the whos, whats, whys, whens, and wheres you never knew you needed to know, I headed out, giving the cowbell above the door a mournful clang as I left.
From "Moon Over Manifest" by Clare Vanderpool
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.
