1. plural of cowtown; small towns in the American West or Midwest, especially those associated with cattle ranching or the cattle trade
Usage: informal; often used descriptively or somewhat dismissively to refer to small, rural communities

Examples

• Many cowtowns in Texas have grown into modern cities over the past century.
• The old cowtowns along the cattle trails are now popular tourist destinations.
• He grew up in one of those dusty cowtowns in Kansas.
• The cowtowns of the 1800s were rough, lawless places.
• Several cowtowns have preserved their historic buildings as museums.