pug

1 of 4

noun (1)

ˈpəg 

1

: any of a breed of small sturdy compact dogs of Asian origin with a smooth, short coat, tightly curled tail, short muzzle, and broad wrinkled face

2

a

: pug nose

b

: a close knot or coil of hair : bun

Illustration of pug

• pug 1

pug

2 of 4

verb

pugged; pugging

transitive verb

: to work and mix (a substance, such as clay) when wet especially to make more homogeneous and easier to handle (as in throwing or molding wares)

pug

3 of 4

noun (2)

: boxer entry 1 sense 1

pug

4 of 4

noun (3)

: pugmark

Synonyms of pug

Noun (2)

• boxer
• fighter

Examples of pug in a Sentence

Noun (2)

a retired pug with battered ears and swollen knuckles

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Rahtz is on the left, and Farmer is on the right with their pug, Doyle. — Wendy Goodman, Curbed, 19 Sep. 2026

There was so much going on, whether the props department were working on setting up the flowers, setting up the food, the dog trainers were getting the pugs ready, or some of the actors were just hanging out talking. — Daisy Leepson, Vulture, 17 Sep. 2026

But Hearts of Darkness didn’t have anywhere as many macarons, pugs or frothy silk-satin gowns as Making Marie Antoinette does, so who knows which one future generations will watch more? — Leslie Felperin, HollywoodReporter, 6 Sep. 2026

Struggling to come to terms with the diagnosis, Jenifer now stays mostly indoors, building elaborate Lego artwork and spending time with their rescue pug mixes. — Christopher Osher, ProPublica, 4 Sep. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

obsolete pug hobgoblin, monkey

Verb

origin unknown

Noun (2)

by shortening & alteration from pugilist

Noun (3)

Hindi & Urdu pag foot, step

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1751, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1843, in the meaning defined above

Noun (2)

1858, in the meaning defined above

Noun (3)

1851, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing pug

• pug mill
• pug nose

Rhymes for pug

• chug
• doug
• drug
• dug
• hug
• jug
• lug
• mug
• plug
• rug
• rugg
• shrug

Kids Definition

pug

noun

ˈpəg

: any of a breed of small sturdy compact dogs having a short coat, tightly curled tail, and broad wrinkled face