lariat

American  

[lar-ee-uht] / ˈlær i ət /

noun

1. a long, noosed rope used to catch horses, cattle, or other livestock; lasso.

2. a rope used to picket grazing animals.

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lariat British  

/ ˈlærɪət /

noun

1. another word for lasso

2. a rope for tethering animals

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Etymology

Origin of lariat

1825–35; < Spanish la reata the riata

Explanation

A lariat is another word for a lasso, the loop of rope you'd use to catch a steer if you were a cowboy. While lariat and lasso can be used interchangeably, it's more common for U.S. cowboys to call the looped rope they throw around the necks of errant cattle a lariat (or simply a "rope") and to use lasso as a verb. If you want to fit in on a ranch, you might say, "Throw me that lariat so I can lasso that steer." Lariat comes from the Spanish la reata, "the rope."

Example Sentences

Recently, researchers at Brown University who were studying the locations of the joining sites in these lariats made an odd observation -- some introns were actually circular instead of lariat shaped.

From Science Daily • May 10, 2024

Even the core lingo comes from the Spanish language: lariat, corral, chaps.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 21, 2024

The response, which included agents on horses, was broadly criticized after images of what appeared to be an agent using his lariat as a whip went viral.

From New York Times • Jun. 9, 2023

A Reuters video showed a Border Patrol agent using what the news agency described as a lariat to whip at a Haitian migrant trying to enter the United States from Mexico.

From Seattle Times • Sep. 20, 2021

He tied the lariat rope around her neck and slipped off the bridle to let her graze.

From "Ceremony:" by Leslie Marmon Silko