Definition

1. Noun:
   • A hired hand who tends cattle and performs other duties on horseback: A person, typically in the American West, employed to look after and move herds of cattle, often working from horseback. This term is a synonym for "cowboy."

Examples of Usage

• Noun:
  • The old cowpoke sat by the campfire, telling stories of the trail.
  • The ranch hired several new cowpokes for the spring roundup.

Advanced Usage

• The term "cowpoke" is informal and has the same core meaning as "cowboy." It can sometimes carry a slightly more rustic or old-fashioned connotation.
• Historically, the job involved tasks like herding, branding, and driving cattle over long distances.

Variants and Related Words

• Cowboy (n): The more common and standard term for a cattle herder on horseback.
• Cowhand (n): Another synonym for a person who works with cattle.
• Buckaroo (n): A regional term, primarily used in the western United States, for a cowboy.

Synonyms

• Cattleman
• Cowherd
• Drover
• Wrangler

Related Phrases

• To poke cattle: An older phrase meaning to herd or drive cattle, which is the likely origin of "cowpoke."

Noun

1. a hired hand who tends cattle and performs other duties on horseback