rowdy
Americannoun
plural
rowdiesadjective
-
rough and disorderly.
rowdy behavior at school.
-
Slang. great; very enjoyable, often with boisterous fun.
a rowdy time at the arcade with my best friends.
- Synonyms:
- obstreperous, unruly, boisterous
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
- rowdily adverb
- rowdiness noun
- unrowdy adjective
Etymology
Origin of rowdy
An Americanism dating back to 1810–20; perhaps from row 3
Explanation
If you’re rowdy, you’re loud and raucous. You’re disturbing the peace and somebody’s likely to ask you to quiet down. When your team wins, if you and your teammates celebrate by running through the streets screaming and wrestling each other on people’s lawns, you’re a rowdy bunch. You may be rough and obnoxious or just rowdy in a good-natured way. But you reserve the name rowdy for a cruel and brutal guy. Remember that bully in the seventh grade who kept taking your lunch money? He was a rowdy.
Vocabulary lists containing rowdy
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian
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Schooled
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Frindle
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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.
"I wonder if there were disappointed customers, or if they were just rowdy? Maybe they were excited at seeing these pictures."
From Barron's • Apr. 13, 2026
At the Virginian, a dimly lit dive bar with dollar bills plastered to the wall, bartender Joshua Roche was pouring beers Thursday for a rowdy group that included one active-duty and two retired Marines.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 9, 2026
Semenyo's winner silenced a raucous and rowdy crowd with a real poacher's finish, reacting quickest to latch on to Rayan Ait-Nouri's cross and converting with aplomb.
From BBC • Feb. 28, 2026
We’ve had rowdy truck drivers come kind of close to us, and the DOT guys will be like, “Watch out. What’s going on with you? Slow down.”
From Slate • Feb. 24, 2026
As the carriage raced into the night, Leah heard the shouts of a rowdy gang following close behind.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
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.
