pooch

1 of 2

noun

ˈpüch 

plural pooches

informal

: dog

a cute pooch

Before the abusive letters pour in …, may I state that I am very fond of dogs. Loyal, obedient, housetrained pooches are a pleasure to rub noses with.

—Romany Bain

pooch

2 of 2

verb

pooched; pooching; pooches

intransitive verb

chiefly dialectal

: bulge

Phrases

screw the pooch

US slang

: to botch an activity or undertaking : screw up

He's a little cocky, but he's not about to screw the pooch.

—Douglas M. Bailey

Such is life. Sometimes you score big, and sometimes you screw the pooch.

—Greg Jerrett

Synonyms

Noun

• canine
• dog
• doggy
• doggie
• hound
• tyke
• tike

Verb

• bag
• balloon
• beetle
• belly
• billow
• bulge
• bunch
• jut
• overhang
• poke
• pouch
• pout
• project
• protrude
• stand out
• start
• stick out
• swell

Examples of pooch in a Sentence

Noun

What a cute little pooch!

walking down the street with several pooches on leashes

Verb

his lower lip pooched out in disappointment

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Initial health assessments for each pooch were currently underway. —Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 10 May 2025

Hurricane season starts in June, but now is the time to start preparing emergency packs for your pooches and kitties. —Phaedra Trethan, USA Today, 3 May 2025

Take your pooch to these 10 most dog-friendly states 🏠 These are the 10 best states for house flipping Our best wishes on a safe start to the day. —Quartz Staff, Quartz, 17 Apr. 2025

Instead of ignoring the dog, the whale drew closer to the pooch. —Kelli Bender, People.com, 2 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Noun

origin unknown

Verb

alteration of pouch entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

1908, in the meaning defined above

Verb

circa 1923, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing pooch

• screw the pooch

Rhymes for pooch

• brooch
• cooch
• gooch
• baluch
• mapuche

Kids Definition

pooch

noun

ˈpüch

informal

: dog entry 1 sense 1a