jackeroo

American  

[jak-uh-roo] / ˌdʒæk əˈru /

Or jackaroo

noun

jackeroos plural

1. an inexperienced person working as an apprentice on a sheep ranch.

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verb (used without object)

jackerooed, jackerooing

1. to work as an apprentice on a sheep ranch.

jackeroo British  

/ ˌdʒækəˈruː /

noun

1. informal a young male management trainee on a sheep or cattle station

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Etymology

Origin of jackeroo

1875–80; jack ¹ + (kang)aroo; cf. -eroo

Example Sentences

In 1964, he signed up as a ranch hand, known as a jackeroo, after embellishing his abilities on horseback, and was sent to the Kimberley, a vast region in northwestern Australia.

From Washington Post • Apr. 12, 2023

The trek doesn’t go quite as planned, and Lola takes a job as a jackeroo — the term is explained — at the winery’s nearby sheep farm.

From New York Times • May 18, 2022

The Sydney jackeroo rose impulsively, but Jack glanced at him, and he sat down again.

From Over the Sliprails by Lawson, Henry

"Two thousand one hundred and seventy-two," replied the jackeroo promptly.

From The Shadow of a Man by Hornung, E. W. (Ernest William)

Ives the jackeroo, a weak youth wearing spectacles, had put on nothing but the long-suffering smile with which he was in the habit of receiving the storekeeper's grape-shot.

From The Shadow of a Man by Hornung, E. W. (Ernest William)