lariat

American  

[lar-ee-uht] / ˈlær i ət /

noun

1. a long, noosed rope used to catch horses, cattle, or other livestock; lasso.

2. a rope used to picket grazing animals.

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lariat British  

/ ˈlærɪət /

noun

1. another word for lasso

2. a rope for tethering animals

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Etymology

Origin of lariat

1825–35; < Spanish la reata the riata

Explanation

A lariat is another word for a lasso, the loop of rope you'd use to catch a steer if you were a cowboy. While lariat and lasso can be used interchangeably, it's more common for U.S. cowboys to call the looped rope they throw around the necks of errant cattle a lariat (or simply a "rope") and to use lasso as a verb. If you want to fit in on a ranch, you might say, "Throw me that lariat so I can lasso that steer." Lariat comes from the Spanish la reata, "the rope."

Example Sentences

To begin to answer this question, Ares decided to investigate whether it was indeed the spliceosome that was making changes to the lariat introns to remove their tails.

From Science Daily • May 10, 2024

A Reuters video showed a Border Patrol agent using what the news agency described as a lariat to whip at a Haitian migrant trying to enter the United States from Mexico.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 20, 2021

A U.S. law enforcement officer on horseback wielded what appeared to be a lariat, whipping it close to the face of a man wading in the Rio Grande carrying a plastic bag of food.

From Reuters • Sep. 20, 2021

M. was dressed unremarkably, in jeans and a T-shirt, with a necklace on a long leather lariat — an upgraded version of what he might have worn in class.

From New York Times • May 10, 2021

Presently a hulking, crazy-eyed man toting a stiff lariat appeared on the scene.

From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols