bell cow

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bell cow

noun bell cows · bellcow

The lead cow in a herd. [he] also keeps a number of cows, one of which has a bell hung round its neck, which keeps ringing with every motion of the cow. The other cows follow the “bell cow,” and thus their whereabouts in the forest are readily got at.
US, figuratively A leader; an influencer. When Carlos Hyde was selected in the second round of the 2014 NFL Draft, it was presumed he would eventually take over Frank Gore's role as lead back for the Niners. Now that Gore signed in Indianapolis, the door is wide open for Hyde to seize that opportunity. "He looks the part as far as a bellcow

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MLA

"bell cow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/bell%20cow. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

bell cow. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/bell%20cow

Chicago

"bell cow." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/bell%20cow.

BibTeX

@misc{bell_cow_2026,
  title = {bell cow},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/bell%20cow},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}