dog

noun, often attributive \ ˈdȯg , ˈdäg \

|Updated on: 17 Aug 2018

Examples: dog in a Sentence

Definition of dog

1 a : canid

wolves, foxes, and other dogs

; especially : a highly variable domestic mammal (Canis familiaris) closely related to the gray wolf

the family's pet dog

b : a male dog

dogs and bitches

; also : a male usually carnivorous mammal

2 a : a worthless or contemptible person

b : fellow, chap

a lazy dog

you lucky dog

3 a : any of various usually simple mechanical devices for holding, gripping, or fastening that consist of a spike, bar, or hook

b : andiron

4 : uncharacteristic or affected stylishness or dignity

put on the dog

5 capitalized, astronomy : either of the constellations Canis Major or Canis Minor

6 dogs plural, anatomy : feet

rest his tired dogs

7 dogs plural : ruin

going to the dogs

8 : one inferior of its kind

the movie was a dog

: such as

a : an investment not worth its price

b : an undesirable piece of merchandise

9 : an unattractive person; especially : an unattractive girl or woman

10 : hot dog 1

bought two dogs and a beer

—

doglike

play \ˈdȯg-ˌlīk\ adjective

See dog defined for English-language learners

See dog defined for kids

Examples of dog in a Sentence

That dog barks all day long.
children playing with the family dog
wild dogs such as the Australian dingo
They say she's a real dog.
Her latest book turned out to be a real dog.
That was a dog of a movie.

Recent Examples of dog from the Web

Some of it is more open to interpretation: Is the three-headed dog behind her supposed to be Cerberus, the ravenous creature who guards the underworld in Greek mythology?

— bonnie stiernberg, Glamour, "Ariana Grande's 'God Is a Woman' Video Is an Incredible Manifesto for Empowering Female Sexuality," 14 July 2018
The quarter pound dogs come on a steamed bun and will be on sale for 99 cents at the end of the month.

— michelle gant, Fox News, "Sam's Club offering Polish dogs in response to Costco's news," 13 July 2018
The landlord called the Animal Control unit for the city, where workers found the tan dog under a panel and buried under a mound of debris.

— mary carole mccauley, baltimoresun.com, "Emaciated puppy found under pile of trash is fighting for her life," 13 July 2018
To differentiate the two, the game that would later spawn Pele and Cristiano Ronaldo and Kimble the soccer dog was given the title Association football.

— martin rogers, USA TODAY, "Sorry, England: the USA is right to call football 'soccer'," 12 July 2018
This can make the dog feel in danger and put the business at liability.

— bryce airgood, Detroit Free Press, "You can leave Fido in a high-tech doghouse at 2 Ferndale restaurants," 12 July 2018
The two-legged dog zips around just fine, thank you.

— kirby adams, The Courier-Journal, "Meet Deuce from Kentucky — he might just be the fastest dog on two legs," 11 July 2018
All of the materials in the home were chosen to reduce damage from friction since the dog has extremely sensitive joints.

— liz stinson, Curbed, "This modern house is designed to support a dog’s health needs," 11 July 2018
Valley Fever and blood tests on the dog come up with no answer.

— lily altavena, azcentral, "Controversy in the air as Mesa homeowners decry neighboring asphalt plant’s odors," 11 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'dog.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Illustration of dog

Origin and Etymology of dog

Middle English, from Old English docga

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

dog Synonyms

Synonyms

beast, boor, cad, churl, clown, creep, cur, heel, jerk, joker, louse, lout, pill, rat, reptile, scum, skunk, slob, snake, stinker, swine, varmint, vermin;

Near Antonyms

hero, heroine, idol, role model;

gentleman, lady;

angel, saint;

loudmouth, vulgarian;

lowlife, miscreant, rascal, rogue, roughneck, scab, scamp, scoundrel, villain, wretch;

booby, fool, nincompoop, ninny, nitwit, nut;

airhead, birdbrain, blockhead, dolt, dope, dork [slang], goon, half-wit, idiot, imbecile, moron, turkey;

Phrases

son of a gun;

Other Mammals Terms

dormouse, dugong, gibbon, grimalkin, sable, stoat, ungulate, vole

dog

adjective

Definition of dog

1 : canine

dog breeders

a dog collar

2 : having an inferior or inauthentic quality : spurious

dog rhyme

; especially, languages : unlike that used by native speakers or writers

dog Latin

dog French

Recent Examples of dog from the Web

Dog beds: Hemp Vintage Stripe Envelope in Black; harrybarker.com.

— Southern Living, "Source Guide - September 2013," 1 Sep. 2013
For entertainment, there will be dog races, a police K-9 demonstration, dogs splashing into water and Repticon, a showing of exotic pets, consisting of reptiles, insects and amphibians.

— louis casiano jr., Orange County Register, "Meet and greet canines and critters, from furry to feathered, at Pet Expo in Costa Mesa," 28 Apr. 2017

Origin and Etymology of dog

see ¹dog

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

dog

verb

Definition of dog

dogged play \ˈdȯgd, ˈdägd\; dogging

1 a : to hunt, track, or follow like a hound

dogged her every move

b : to worry as if by pursuit with dogs : plague

dogged by his past failures

c : to bother or pester persistently

dogged him about his grades

2 : to fasten with a simple mechanical device consisting of a spike, bar, or hook : to fasten with a dog (see ¹dog 3a)

dogged down the hatch

— dog it

: to fail to do one's best : goldbrick

See dog defined for English-language learners

Examples of dog in a Sentence

He dogged her every move.
Creditors dogged him until he finally paid his bills.

Recent Examples of dog from the Web

Ultimately, what has dogged Strzok the most is his text messages to Page.

— zeeshan aleem, Vox, "Controversial FBI agent Peter Strzok’s upcoming hearing, explained," 11 July 2018
Any signs that falling investor and business sentiment will continue dogging the eurozone into the second half of the year will likely keep the currency pressured, analysts at Commonwealth Foreign Exchange said in a note.

— ira iosebashvili, WSJ, "U.S. Dollar Inches Higher," 10 July 2018
According to Wag!, humans have many more color-sensing cones than dogs do; dog eyes contain between 1/9th and 1/12th of these ocular cones.

— Southern Living, "10 Things You Should Know About Your Dog," 3 July 2018
And there was Ryan Hunter-Reay, who dogged Newgarden all day, plus Scott Dixon, the wise and sneaky-fast 2017 winner.

— dave kallmann, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Perfect? Nearly. That doesn't mean Josef Newgarden's afternoon in Elkhart Lake was easy.," 24 June 2018
After dominating the action for 90 minutes, but finding frustration from Costa Rica’s dogged defense and keeper Keylor Navas, Brazil finally broke through on a goal by Philippe Coutinho in the 91st minute.

— matthew futterman and victor mather, New York Times, "Brazil Gets Its First Win, a Triumph of Grit More Than Style," 23 June 2018
Such match-ups aren’t necessarily eliminating the sexism that’s dogged female hopefuls in the past.

— claire zillman, Fortune, "Serena v. Maria, California Primaries, Amazon v. Ulta: Broadsheet for June 4," 4 June 2018
Both leaders claimed the right to head the next government, and that dispute has dogged their efforts to form a coalition ever since.

— john follain, Bloomberg.com, "Italy's Populist League Gives Public a Say on Coalition Program," 19 May 2018
Their creation was inspired by Cold War paranoia, dogged small-town American optimism, and the incessant pitching of Madison Avenue in the TV age.

— noel murray, The Verge, "Amazon’s Rocky and Bullwinkle brings back an old favorite… but why?," 11 May 2018

Origin and Etymology of dog

see ¹dog

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1519

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

dog Synonyms

Phrases

run after;

dog

adverb

Definition of dog

: extremely, utterly

dog-tired

Origin and Etymology of dog

see ¹dog

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1526

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

DOG Defined for Kids

dog

noun \ ˈdȯg \

Definition of dog for Students

1 : a domestic animal that eats meat and is closely related to the wolves

2 : any of the group of mammals (as wolves, foxes, and jackals) to which the domestic dog belongs

3 : person 1

You lucky dog!

—

doglike

\ˈdȯ-ˌglīk\ adjective

dog

verb

Definition of dog for Students

dogged; dogging

1 : to hunt, track, or follow like a hound

I dogged them all the way.

2 : pester

3 : to cause problems for

Injuries dogged the team.

Medical Dictionary

dog

noun, often attributive \ ˈdȯg \

medical Definition of dog

: a highly variable carnivorous domesticated mammal of the genus Canis (C. familiaris) closely related to the common wolf (Canis lupus); broadly : any member of the family Canidae