bronco

/ˈbrɑŋkoʊ/

/ˈbrɒŋkəʊ/

Other forms: broncos

A bronco is a horse that has a tendency to buck, or kick out its rear legs, especially when someone tries to ride it. Broncos make ideal rodeo horses.

In Spanish, bronco means "rough," from a root defined as "a knot in wood." The word was adopted into cowboy jargon as a name for rough, or half-wild, horses that are very challenging to ride. The rodeo events that feature riders trying to stay on bucking broncos are known as "roughstock." Broncos were originally wild mustangs, but today most are specially bred to buck. The image of a cowboy riding a bronco is Wyoming's official state symbol.

Definitions of bronco

1. noun

   an unbroken or imperfectly broken mustang
   synonyms: bronc, broncho

   types:

   bucking bronco

   a wild horse that is vicious and difficult or impossible to break in

   type of:

   mustang

   small hardy range horse of the western plains descended from horses brought by the Spanish