Illustration of prairie dog
prairie dog
noun
: any of a genus (Cynomys) of gregarious burrowing rodents of the squirrel family chiefly of central and western U.S. plains
especially
: a black-tailed rodent (C. ludovicianus) that usually lives in extensive colonial burrows
Examples of prairie dog in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
The statue was modeled after a real prairie dog.
—
Jalen Williams, Freep.com, 27 Jan. 2026
It's become the boy who cried wolf, bear, moose, badger, wombat, elephant, natterjack toad, mandrel, meerkat, blue whale, lesser skink, prairie dog, ferret, wildebeest, dingo, tree kangaroo, sloth, anteater, blue-footed booby, Norwegian Blue, and half the catalog in the Museum of Natural History.
—New Atlas, 24 Jan. 2026
With the emergence of Derik Queen at center, the playing time was sparse, but Missi poked his head out like a prairie dog.
—Stan Son, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
Bison roam freely, wild horses graze on ridges, and entire prairie dog towns pop up along the roadside.
—Karthika Gupta, Travel + Leisure, 7 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prairie dog
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.
Jalen Williams, Freep.com, 27 Jan. 2026
It's become the boy who cried wolf, bear, moose, badger, wombat, elephant, natterjack toad, mandrel, meerkat, blue whale, lesser skink, prairie dog, ferret, wildebeest, dingo, tree kangaroo, sloth, anteater, blue-footed booby, Norwegian Blue, and half the catalog in the Museum of Natural History.
—New Atlas, 24 Jan. 2026
With the emergence of Derik Queen at center, the playing time was sparse, but Missi poked his head out like a prairie dog.
—Stan Son, New York Times, 15 Jan. 2026
Bison roam freely, wild horses graze on ridges, and entire prairie dog towns pop up along the roadside.
—Karthika Gupta, Travel + Leisure, 7 Nov. 2025
See All Example Sentences for prairie dog
Cite this Entry
“Prairie dog.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/prairie%20dog. Accessed 3 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
