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
Romany Bain
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
Douglas M. BaileySuch is life. Sometimes you score big, and sometimes you screw the pooch.—Greg Jerrett
Greg JerrettExamples 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
Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025
Even the couple’s cute pooch got in on the action, as evidenced by a snap of the black and white dog walking down the aisle in advance of Bareilles while decked out in a miniature tuxedo.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 7 Oct. 2025
The cranky and irritating backseat driver, who bums a lift midway through the Griswolds' adventure, also has with her the easily excitable pooch Dinky.
—Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Sep. 2025
Once the dog was secured, the two walked back to the parking lot, and Hawkins was able to text the pooch's owner using the number on the dog's tag.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 27 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pooch
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
Bastian is not alone in the winner's circle of the World's Cutest Rescue Dog Contest; two runners-up joined the pooch in the competition's top three.
—Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025
Even the couple’s cute pooch got in on the action, as evidenced by a snap of the black and white dog walking down the aisle in advance of Bareilles while decked out in a miniature tuxedo.
—Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 7 Oct. 2025
The cranky and irritating backseat driver, who bums a lift midway through the Griswolds' adventure, also has with her the easily excitable pooch Dinky.
—Jordan Hoffman, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Sep. 2025
Once the dog was secured, the two walked back to the parking lot, and Hawkins was able to text the pooch's owner using the number on the dog's tag.
—Saman Shafiq, USA Today, 27 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for pooch
Cite this Entry
“Pooch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pooch. Accessed 14 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share