Rowdy means noisy and wild in a disorderly crowd way. A rowdy crowd, rowdy behaviour, get rowdy.
It describes groups more than individuals, and it sits below violent — a rowdy pub is loud rather than dangerous. It is used constantly by police and licensing authorities, where it is a step on a scale. Note rowdiness; rowdy as a noun, meaning a rough person, which is now dated; and that the word probably comes from row meaning a noisy quarrel.
1adjectiverowdyNoisy and wild in a disorderly way.
“A group of rowdy teenagers was shouting and throwing bottles outside the shop.”
synonyms: boisterous, unruly
rowdy is a quality of noisy disorder.
Also accepted in games: boisterous
The origin is uncertain, probably from row meaning a noisy argument, and it began as a noun in nineteenth-century American English before becoming an adjective.
Built from
unknown from row (“noisy argument”), originally used as a noun.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA