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rowdy

[ rou-dee ]
/ ˈraʊ di /
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See synonyms for: rowdy / rowdily / rowdiness on Thesaurus.com

noun, plural row·dies.
a rough, disorderly person.
adjective, row·di·er, row·di·est.
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.
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Origin of rowdy

An Americanism dating back to 1810–20; perhaps from row3

OTHER WORDS FROM rowdy

row·di·ly, adverbrow·di·ness, nounun·row·dy, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use rowdy in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for rowdy

rowdy
/ (ˈraʊdɪ) /

adjective -dier or -diest
tending to create noisy disturbances; rough, loud, or disorderlya rowdy gang of football supporters
noun plural -dies
a person who behaves in a rough disorderly fashion

Derived forms of rowdy

rowdily, adverbrowdiness, noun

Word Origin for rowdy

C19: originally US slang, perhaps related to row ³
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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