collie

1 of 2

noun

col·​lie ˈkä-lē 

: any of a breed of large dogs developed in Scotland that occur in rough-coated and smooth-coated varieties and have erect ears and a long muzzle

Illustration of collie

colly

2 of 2

verb

col·​ly ˈkä-lē 

collied; collying

transitive verb

dialectal, chiefly British

: to blacken with or as if with soot

Examples of collie in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Columnist Phi Potempa’s mom Peggy and her collie Laddy pose in this 1991 photo with her mother Lucille Green’s green 1969 Oldsmobile Cutlass, which was passed down as Phil’s first driving car at the farm. — Philip Potempa, Chicago Tribune, 6 Nov. 2026

In order to get Maggie, her beloved first rough collie, then 16-year-old Long-Gschwender struck a bargain with her mom to enter Maggie into an obedience program. — Noah Daly august 23, Idaho Statesman, 23 Aug. 2026

The monarch is pictured above with her first collie, Sharp; over the course of 40 years, Queen Victoria would go on to own more than 80 collies. — Audrey Schmidt, PEOPLE, 9 Aug. 2026

Tsunami will visit schools and communities across the country, with support from Perros Extremos, a dog-training organization that has rallied support around the border collie during this emergency. — Tibisay Zea, Christian Science Monitor, 15 July 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun

probably from English dialect colly black

Verb

alteration of Middle English colwen, from Old English *colgian, from Old English col coal

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1651, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1600, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing collie

• bearded collie
• Border collie

Rhymes for collie

• akali
• bengali
• diwali
• loblolly
• naphtali
• nepali
• secale
• somali
• colley
• dolly
• folly
• golly

Kids Definition

collie

noun

col·​lie ˈkäl-ē 

: any of a breed of large dogs developed in Scotland for herding sheep