Standard Lemma guide

buckaroo

name · noun · 7 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌbʌkəˈɹuː/
  • General-American: /ˌbʌkəˈɹu/
  • General-American: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • rhymes with -uː

1

name

Meaning 1

A locality in the Mid-Western council area, eastern New South Wales, Australia.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A cowboy; specifically, a working cowboy who generally does not participate in rodeos.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, also, attributive

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

One who adopts a distinctive style of cowboy attire and heritage.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, broadly

Examples

  • Many cowboy poets have a buckaroo look and feel about them.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A style of cowboy boot with a high heel tapered at the back.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, broadly

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

A headstrong, reckless person; a hothead.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, Western, figuratively

Examples

  • Don’t run in looking for a fight like some kind of buckaroo.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

6

noun

Meaning 6

Synonym of buck (“a dollar”).

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: US, slang

Examples

  • That’ll be twenty buckaroos, buddy.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: buckaroonie, smackeroo, buck

Antonyms: none provided

7

noun

Meaning 7

local names for a cowboy (`vaquero' is used especially in southwestern and central Texas and `buckaroo' is used especially in California)

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: vaquero, buckeroo

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: cowboy, cowpuncher, puncher, cowman, cattleman, cowpoke, cowhand, cowherd

History

Etymology

Modified from Spanish vaquero (“cowboy”), with the spelling influenced by buck (“(noun) male antelope, deer, etc.; adventurous or high-spirited young man; (verb) of a horse, etc.: to leap upward arching its back, coming down with head low and forelegs stiff, forcefully kicking its hind legs upward”). Doublet of vaquero. cognates * Early Medieval Latin vaccārius (“cowherd”) * French vacher * Late Latin baccalārius (“landless serf; cowherd (?)”) (Merovingian)

Probably a fanciful elaboration of buck, influenced by buckaroo (etymology 1).

Across languages

Translations

2 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Finnish: buckaroo — one who adopts a distinctive style of cowboy attire and heritage
  • Finnish: buckaroo-saapas — style of cowboy boot with a high heel tapered at the back