how to pronounce cowboy

/ˈkaʊ.bɔɪ/

audio example by a male speaker

audio example by a female speaker

the above transcription of cowboy is a detailed (narrow) transcription according to the rules of the International Phonetic Association; you can find a description of each symbol by clicking the phoneme buttons in the secction below.

cowboy is pronounced in two syllables

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1.

2. example pitch curve for pronunciation of cowboy

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video examples of cowboy pronunciation

An example use of cowboy in a speech by a native speaker of british english:

“… cabway in zambia cowboy is located near …”

meanings of cowboy

noun:

A playing card of king rank.
A man who tends free-range cattle, especially in the American West.
A man who identifies with cowboy culture, including wearing a cowboy hat and being a fan of country and western music.
A person who engages in reckless behavior, especially for the purpose of showing off.
A dishonest and/or incompetent independent tradesman.

verb:

To work as a cowboy, herding cattle.

cowboy frequency in english - C2 level of CEFR

the word cowboy occurs in english on average 3.3 times per one million words; this frequency warrants it to be in the study list for C2 level of language mastery according to CEFR, the Common European Framework of Reference.