Illustration of terrier
: any of various usually small energetic dogs originally used by hunters to dig for small game and engage the quarry underground or drive it out
Examples of terrier in a Sentence
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Mija the Yorkshire terrier lived in Florida with her owner, 33, who chose not to give his name, and his much-larger dogs, including a husky and Swiss shepherd.
—
Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
Patrick, a 2-year-old pit bull terrier Adoption fee $130
With an infectious zest for life and a heart full of love, Patrick is ready to welcome his person into it.
—Trish Stinger, Kansas City Star, 27 Aug. 2025
The movie opens with Bull (voiced by Adam Devine), the terrier main character, as an adorable little puppy brought home to his besotted owners — depicted, along with most humans in the film, neck down as a facsimile of a pet’s POV.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2025
The dogs — a brown pit bull terrier, a black Shepherd mix and a white Shepherd/Shiba Inu mix — have been in the custody of Fort Worth Animal Control since June 17, the day after Ronald Anderson was found dead inside his home.
—Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Aug. 2025
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Rachael O'Connor, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Sep. 2025
Patrick, a 2-year-old pit bull terrier Adoption fee $130
With an infectious zest for life and a heart full of love, Patrick is ready to welcome his person into it.
—Trish Stinger, Kansas City Star, 27 Aug. 2025
The movie opens with Bull (voiced by Adam Devine), the terrier main character, as an adorable little puppy brought home to his besotted owners — depicted, along with most humans in the film, neck down as a facsimile of a pet’s POV.
—Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2025
The dogs — a brown pit bull terrier, a black Shepherd mix and a white Shepherd/Shiba Inu mix — have been in the custody of Fort Worth Animal Control since June 17, the day after Ronald Anderson was found dead inside his home.
—Harriet Ramos, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 9 Aug. 2025
See All Example Sentences for terrier
Cite this Entry
“Terrier.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terrier. Accessed 11 Sep. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
terrier
noun
ter·ri·er
ˈter-ē-ər 
: any of various usually small energetic dogs originally used by hunters to drive game animals from their holes
Etymology
Middle English terryer "a small dog used for hunting burrowing animals," from early French (chen) terrer, literally "earth dog," from terre "earth," derived from Latin terra (same meaning)
Word Origin
Today most terriers are kept as pets. However, there was a time when the dogs were widely used for hunting. Terriers are usually small dogs with short legs, and they were used to dig game animals such as foxes, badgers, and weasels out of their holes. The dogs were also trained to go into a hole after a game animal and drive it out. The French name for these dogs was chen terrer, meaning "earth dog." English borrowed only the word terrier, which can be traced back to Latin terra, meaning "earth."
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