as in to chase
to go after or on the track of
suspecting infidelity, he hired a private detective to bird-dog his wife
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bird-dog
Verb
-
Some observers suggest that seekers aren’t chasing hollow shortcuts online.—
Lucy Jones
April 11,
Miami Herald,
11 Apr. 2026 -
The couple had spent the past decade sailing together, charting a life across open water — learning to scuba dive, chasing marine life and finding meaning in the quiet, in-between moments at sea.—
Alaa Elassar,
CNN Money,
11 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Most importantly: Ian finds and adopts Rollo, the greatest wolf dog who ever lived.—
Maggie Fremont,
Vulture,
26 Mar. 2026
-
Silver moment of the Games: Everyone loved it when Nazgul, the 2-year-old Czech wolf dog, joined the women’s cross-country competition at the end and ran, without benefit of skis, across the finish line.—
John Cherwa,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Their brutal approach to tracking down entertainers has earned them a litany of enemies.—
Paula Mejía,
New Yorker,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Asia-Pacific markets tracked Wall Street, opening higher on Wednesday.—
Dylan Butts,
CNBC,
15 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Jessie Holmes and his team of sled dogs successfully defended their Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race title this week, becoming the first musher to accomplish the feat in a decade.—
Brittney Melton,
NPR,
19 Mar. 2026
-
Her favorite pieces she’s written for Outside are about competing on the Discovery show Naked and Afraid, being a woman alone in the woods, learning to write, and mischievous sled dog Blowhole.—
Blair Braverman,
Outside,
11 Mar. 2026
Verb
-
He was initially arrested on three felony charges, including false imprisonment, but the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office ultimately declined to pursue those charges, PEOPLE reported at the time.—
Madison E. Goldberg,
PEOPLE,
17 Apr. 2026
-
In 2017, Barnes temporarily left Steubenville to pursue a graduate degree in theology in England.—
Emma Green,
New Yorker,
17 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
William Tong thought a puppy dog would be innocuous.—
Christopher Keating,
Hartford Courant,
22 Jan. 2026
-
Meanwhile, quarterback Fernando Mendoza is the opposite: a big, smiling, slobbering puppy dog of a human being.—
Will Leitch,
New York Times,
13 Jan. 2026
Verb
-
Inspired by UConn, other schools in the state, including Eastern Connecticut State University, Central Connecticut State University and the University of Saint Joseph, host dogs almost every week.—
Mikayla Bunnell,
Hartford Courant,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Corruption allegations also dogged the takeover bid.—
Angelica Ang,
Fortune,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Of course, every good hunter has his faithful hunting dogs, and Orion’s best friends were his big dog, Canis Major, and his little dog, Canis Minor, which are Latin for big and little dog respectively.—
Mike Lynch,
Twin Cities,
12 Apr. 2026
-
Kock maintains the presence of these smart hunters has chased the once dominant great whites further along the coast and insists that overall, the population of great whites in South African waters is stable.—
Michael H Gavshon,
CBS News,
12 Apr. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Bird-dog.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bird-dog. Accessed 19 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
