noun, plural ro·de·os.
- a public exhibition of cowboy skills, as bronco riding and calf roping.
- a roundup of cattle.
- Informal. any contest offering prizes in various events: a bicycle rodeo for kids under twelve.
- (initial capital letter, italics) a ballet (1942) choreographed by Agnes de Mille, with musical score by Aaron Copland.
verb (used without object), ro·de·oed, ro·de·o·ing.
- to participate or compete in a rodeo or rodeos: He’s been rodeoing since he was twelve.
noun plural -os mainly US and Canadian
- a display of the skills of cowboys, including bareback riding, steer wrangling, etc
- the rounding up of cattle for branding, counting, inspection, etc
- an enclosure for cattle that have been rounded up
1914 as public entertainment show of horse-riding skill, from earlier meaning “cattle round-up” (1834), from Spanish rodeo, “pen for cattle at a fair or market,” literally “a going round,” from rodear “go round, surround,” related to rodare “revolve, roll,” from Latin rotare “go around” (see rotary).