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The sport of racing sleds pulled by dogs over snow-covered cross-country courses, dogsled racing, developed from a traditional Eskimo method of transportation. Modern sleds are usually of wood (ash) construction, with leather lashings and steel- or aluminum-covered runners. The dogs used for pulling the sleds are most often Eskimo dogs, Siberian huskies, Samoyeds, or Alaskan malamutes; teams typically consist of 4–10 dogs. The course is usually 12–30 miles (19–48 km) long, though some, including the Iditarod, an annual dogsled race held in Alaska, are considerably longer.
Examples of dogsled in a Sentence
Stefanie Waldek, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Feb. 2026
These are not ‘dogsleds,’ but ships, drones, combat aircraft, and other assets.
—Niall Stanage, The Hill, 15 Jan. 2026
The weather war ended in 1944 when the U.S. Coast Guard, and its East Greenland dogsled patrol, found the last of four German weather stations and captured their meteorologists.
—Paul Bierman, The Conversation, 14 Jan. 2026
During a February weekend, its historic downtown becomes a cold-weather block party with an ice-carving contest, a dogsled pull, and a community soup competition.
—Lauren Dana Ellman, Midwest Living, 29 Dec. 2025
When there was ice, the hunting was done by dogsled; when there was open water, it was done by kayak.
—Ben Taub, New Yorker, 24 Nov. 2025
The hotel offers a number of cold-weather activities that could be worked into next season’s storyline, including dogsled rides, snowshoeing excursions and of course, skiing.
—Natalia Senanayake, PEOPLE, 5 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Dogsled.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dogsled. Accessed 1 Mar. 2026.
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