Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Date: 1800-1900
Origin: Perhaps from row 'unpleasant noise' (18-21 centuries)

rowdy

1 adjective
     
row‧dy1
behaving in a noisy rough way that is likely to cause arguments and fighting:
gangs of rowdy youths
—rowdily adverb
—rowdiness noun [uncountable]
—rowdyism noun [uncountable]
WORD FOCUS: loud WORD FOCUS: loud
similar words: noisy, booming, raucous, rowdy
extremely loud: deafening, earsplitting, thunderous

➔ See also loud
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.

Dictionary pictures of the day
Do you know what each of these is called?
What is the word for picture 1? What is the word for picture 2? What is the word for picture 3? What is the word for picture 4?
Click on any of the pictures above to find out what it is called.

Explore our topic dictionary

Browse the dictionary