1760–70; < Spanish lazo < Latin laqueus noose, bond; see lace
A lasso is the loop of rope that cowboys use to catch cattle. To be a successful cowboy or cowgirl, you have to learn to throw a lasso while riding a galloping horse. The circle of rope is called a lasso. and to lasso is to use it to catch a runaway animal. A child might lasso her stuffed animals while riding a rocking horse, and during a rodeo, cowboys who specialize in "trick roping" use their lassos to do fancy spinning tricks. Lasso was coined in the U.S. around 1807, from the Spanish lazo, and its Latin root laqueum, both meaning "noose" or "snare."
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Gameway calls them wranglers because they are trained to lasso curious travelers heading for their gates.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 10, 2026
And, of course, Kildunne, who hushed France captain Marine Menager after a second-half scuffle, threw up a lasso as part of her usual square-dance celebration after her tries.
From BBC • Sep. 20, 2025
This allows her to swing the hose up to spray water over her back with a movement like a lasso.
From NewsForKids.net • Nov. 21, 2024
In between each performance, audience members cheered at bull riding competitions, circus acts, folklórico dancers, and lasso throwers.
From Seattle Times • Apr. 2, 2024
With a fluid motion Kate slipped the lasso from the end of the flagpole.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
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.
