Definition

Noun: A person who is employed to perform general labor tasks on a ranch, such as caring for livestock, maintaining equipment, and repairing fences.

Usage

This term specifically refers to a hired, often non-supervisory, worker on a cattle or livestock ranch. It describes a role involving physical, outdoor work.

Examples

• The spent the morning mending the barbed wire fence.
• They hired a new to help with the herd during the spring roundup.
• Experienced are skilled at both riding and roping.

Advanced Usage

• The term often implies a degree of skill and familiarity with traditional cowboy or ranching work, though it is a paid position.
• It can be used in a historical context to describe workers on large ranches in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Variants and Related Words

• Cowhand (n): A synonym often used interchangeably with .
• Cowboy (n): A broader term that can refer to a ranch hand, but also to someone who herds cattle, especially in a traditional context, and is not necessarily a hired employee.
• Wrangler (n): A ranch hand who specializes in handling horses.

Synonyms

• Cowhand
• Cowpuncher
• Drover (specifically for herding livestock)
• Herdsman

Related Phrases

• Hired hand: A more general term for any hired farm or ranch laborer.
• Buckaroo: A term used in some regions, particularly the western United States, for a cowboy or ranch hand.

Noun

1. a hired hand on a ranch