dogleg

1 of 3

adjective

dog·​leg ˈdȯg-ˌleg How to pronounce dogleg (audio)
-ˌlāg
: crooked or bent like a dog's hind leg
a sharp dogleg bend in the fairway

dogleg

2 of 3

noun

1
a
: something having an abrupt angle
b
: a sharp bend (as in a road)
2
: a golf hole having an angled fairway

dogleg

3 of 3

verb

doglegged; doglegging; doglegs

intransitive verb

: to proceed along a dogleg course
the single narrow street that doglegs through townRuss Leadabrand

Examples of dogleg in a Sentence

Noun a sharp dogleg to the left
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
All of the holes had a really nice flow to them, as well as a consistent feel – with the possible exception of No. 18 that’s a short dogleg right in which the second shot is severely uphill. Scott Kramer, Forbes.com, 27 July 2025 The 396-yard, dogleg right around a marsh was statistically the toughest hole on the course, with a stroke average of 4.43 and only 24 birdies (and 41 double bogeys or worse) in 552 total rounds. Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 19 May 2025
Verb
Dorian doglegged north along the state’s Atlantic coast and barely tousled Floridians, but the storm’s costs for electric utilities were still significant as the price of living in the nation’s most hurricane-prone state. Kevin Spear, orlandosentinel.com, 18 Nov. 2019 The par-5 18th plays 597, doglegs right and features the bigger-than-ever lake over which pros will have to fly their approach shots to reach the green in two. Tad Reeve, Twin Cities, 3 June 2019 See All Example Sentences for dogleg

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

1671, in the meaning defined above

Noun

1803, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1940, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dogleg was in 1671

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Dogleg.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dogleg. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on dogleg

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!