dung

noun \ ˈdəŋ \

Definition of dung

1 :the feces of an animal :manure

2 :something repulsive

—

dungy

play \ˈdəŋ-ē\ adjective

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Examples of dung in a Sentence

researchers tracked the wild gorillas by following the piles of dung

Recent Examples of dung from the Web

By evolving the ability to make this chemical, which prevents the munchies in insects, perhaps some fungi triumphed over their competitors, and dominated the delicious worlds of dung and rotting wood.

— ed yong, The Atlantic, "How Mushrooms Became Magic," 24 Aug. 2017
The beetle pushes a 10-foot-tall, geodesic orb (aka the dung ball) made from aluminum.

— doug maccash, NOLA.com, "Taking a ride in a giant mechanical dung beetle ... actually in the dung ball," 18 Aug. 2017
If the circus has set up shop in the White House and exotic political animals are dropping their dung all over the National Mall, blame the Barnum who brought all this to town.

— kyle smith, National Review, "When the New York Times Decides to Spell Out Profanity," 28 July 2017
Other animals, like dung beetles, alter their behavior to preserve body water.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "The Secrets of Unkillable Tardigrades Found in Their DNA," 28 July 2017
After a season set entirely in a small Texas town, many of whose residents were key characters, the show blew up the town in a cow-dung-methane explosion and (apparently) killed off most of the characters.

— mike hale, New York Times, "‘Preacher’ and ‘The Strain’: Smart Summer Fun," 14 July 2017
Still, Allen is tickled by the prospect of exhuming a tapeworm from elephant dung during his next field-research trip, on the Italian side of the Traversette.

— Smithsonian, "How (and Where) Did Hannibal Cross the Alps?," 28 June 2017
Some critics (including the group that in March dumped 88 pounds of animal dung outside the Palazzo) view the show as an exercise in megalomania.

— mary carole mccauley, baltimoresun.com, "On a trip to Venice, art is inescapable," 8 June 2017
The aroma was equally thrilling—a heady mix of sawdust, cotton candy, and animal dung.

— roger angell, The New Yorker, "The Last Show: A Farewell to the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus," 1 June 2017

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