rodeo
Americannoun
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a public exhibition of cowboy skills, as bronco riding and calf roping.
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a roundup of cattle.
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Informal. any contest offering prizes in various events.
a bicycle rodeo for kids under twelve.
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(initial capital letter, italics) a ballet (1942) choreographed by Agnes de Mille, with musical score by Aaron Copland.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a display of the skills of cowboys, including bareback riding, steer wrangling, etc
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the rounding up of cattle for branding, counting, inspection, etc
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an enclosure for cattle that have been rounded up
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of rodeo
1825–35; < Spanish: cattle ring, derivative of rodear to go round, itself derivative of rueda wheel < Latin rota
Explanation
A rodeo is a type of entertainment that shows off cowboy skills, such as wrestling steers and roping cattle. In the western United States, a popular type of entertainment is an exhibition known as a rodeo. A rodeo is a place where cowboys demonstrate what they can do for a crowd. Many of these skills are dangerous, like wrestling a steer or riding a bull. Some skills involve lassos and other uses of rope, such as roping (tying up) a goat. These skills are for entertainment at a rodeo, but they're necessary on a cattle ranch.
Vocabulary lists containing rodeo
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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:
"This is one of the largest private-sector investments in Canadian history," she told reporters, sporting a cowboy hat to mark the ongoing annual rodeo, the Calgary Stampede.
From Barron's ● Jul. 8, 2026
Children lined up for junior rodeo games just a few feet away from Border Patrol officers, as live country music blared from a massive stage.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
The rodeo has had a relationship with Border Patrol since 2008.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
Samuel Brown Vazquez, a vaquero and community organizer attending the meeting, said he remembered when City Council members first discussed the rodeo ban in 2023.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
On one wall of Roy’s bedroom was a poster from the Livingston rodeo that showed a cowboy riding a ferocious humpbacked bull.
From "Hoot" by Carl Hiaasen
Other jurisdictions throughout the state and nation have put limits on or banned rodeos, including San Francisco, Irvine and Pasadena, as well as Pittsburgh; Baltimore County, Md.; Leesburg, Va.; and Fort Wayne, Ind.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
Experts, activists and records prepared by veterinarians at events say these numbers probably are conservative and underrepresent the extent of injuries that happen at rodeos.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
Between daily longhorn cattle drives, rodeos, live music, and plenty of low-key ways to relax, there’s always something going on.
From Salon ● Mar. 31, 2026
There were rodeos that wouldn’t let him compete.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
He drifted into a Wyoming county fair, where he found a job working for an obscure firm that supplied decrepit horses to rodeos for use in relay races.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
“We’d seen my dad rodeo and my older brother rodeoed, so we knew we had the foundation,” said Holyan, the rodeo coach at Diné College in Tsaile, Arizona.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 27, 2023
He developed his love for the sport from his dad, who made sure his son practiced each day and rodeoed on weekends.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 11, 2021
“My husband, of course, he rodeoed his whole life,” Tammy says, staring out over the dirt ring, where an 11-year-old rider tried his best to reach eight seconds on a steer.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 4, 2018
He’d rodeoed when he was younger, in high school at Hurricane High and in college at Dixie in St. George.
From Washington Times ● Dec. 11, 2015
He’s rodeoed enough to know what broken bones feel like, and by 1938 he’s seen a lot of Saturday matinee westerns.
From Washington Post
Jonckowski had some experience as a youngster working on ranches, so she thought rodeoing would be worth a shot.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 27, 2023
But for now - he’s still roping, rodeoing and hoping to make it to the U.S.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 13, 2018
Teamwork and unity are so important in rodeoing, and in life, he says.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 4, 2018
“I can’t figure out for sure if I could stop rodeoing and just do ranching,” Cody said.
From New York Times ● Mar. 11, 2015
When Hetty drove back into the ranch yard an hour or so later, Johnny was rodeoing the farm tractor around the yard like a teen-ager, his face split in a wide grin.
From Make Mine Homogenized by Freas, Kelly
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.
