Meanings
plural riatas · alternative reata
- USregionalA lariat or lasso.First known use 19th c.
A few blocks from the capitol we stripped him, cut off everything hanging between his legs, then fixed him with a riata and dragged him up and down Congress.
2013, Philipp Meyer, The Son, Simon & Schuster, published 2014, page 4291 more example
“You double-crossing devil,” the young man growled. “[…] Hereafter you'll trot ahead of me at the end of a riata, while I keep you on the jump with a four-horse whip. Right now you're scattering my dunnage from hell to breakfast, […]”
1920, Peter B. Kyne, chapter I, in The Understanding Heart
Synonyms & antonyms
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Spanishreata
- Englishriata
From Spanish reata, from reatar (“to retie”). Compare lariat.
More words from Spanish
Full word history & related roots →Rhymes & wordplay
Anagrams
Cite this entry
riata. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/riata
“riata.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/riata. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “riata,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/riata.
Source: riata on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.