Word.ws English Dictionary

dog

/dɔɡ//dɒɡ/

dog noun: the species Canis familiaris (sometimes designated Canis lupus familiaris), domesticated for thousands of years and of highly variable appearance because of human breeding.

dog: a mammal of the family Canidae:
Image: Markus Trienke, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

dog (countable and uncountable, plural dogs)

  1. The species Canis familiaris (sometimes designated Canis lupus familiaris), domesticated for thousands of years and of highly variable appearance because of human breeding.
    • The dog barked all night long.
    • […] I beg again to state, in my humility, that I am Only a Dog. Such a little dog too. […] I am very white, very woolly, very pretty indeed; covered all over with snowy curls, and having two bright black eyes and a black shiny tip to my nose like patent leather.1870, Ouida [pseudonym; Maria Louise Ramé], “Introduction. His First Paper.”, in Puck: His Vicissitudes, Adventures, Observations, Conclusions, Friendships, and Philosophies. […], volume I, London...
  2. Any member of the family Canidae, including domestic dogs, wolves, coyotes, jackals, and their relatives (extant and extinct).
    • This includes the development of hyena-like bone crushers (Osteoborus and Borophagus), a large bone-crushing hunting dog (Aelurodon), and another borophagine frugivorous dog (Carpocyon).1989, John L. Gittleman, Carnivore Behavior, Ecology, and Evolution, page 561
    Synonyms:
    canid
  3. (attributive, often) A male dog, wolf, or fox, as opposed to a bitch or vixen.
    • Entirely disregarding sex, Ch. Searchlight has a beautiful Cocker head, but as he is a dog, his head is too fine and far too much upon the bitchy order.1908, Dogdom, volume 9, page 337, column 1
    • Firstly, he was there to encourage and assist the hounds (a scratch pack – mostly dog-hounds drafted from fox-hound kennels because they were over-sized) […]1928, Siegfried Sassoon, Memoirs of a Fox-Hunting Man, Penguin, published 2013, page 149
  4. (rare, uncountable) The meat of this animal, eaten as food.
    • Did you know that they eat dog in parts of Asia?
  5. (derogatory, figuratively, slang) A dull, unattractive girl or woman.
    • She’s a real dog.
  6. (figuratively, slang) A man, guy, chap.
    • You lucky dog!
  7. (derogatory, figuratively) Someone who overeats or eats rapidly and noisily.
  8. (derogatory, figuratively) Someone who is cowardly, worthless, or morally reprehensible.
    • Come back and fight, you dogs!
    • You dirty dog.
  9. (figuratively, slang) A sexually aggressive man.
    • DJ Paul is a dog; one you do not trust.2005, “Stay Fly”, in Jordan Houston, Darnell Carlton, Paul Beauregard, Premro Smith, Marlon Goodwin, David Brown, Willie Hutchinson (lyrics), Most Known Unknown, performed by Three 6 Mafia (featuring...
  10. Any of various mechanical devices for holding, gripping, or fastening something, particularly with a tooth-like projection.
    • Whenever possible, let the tree support the weight of the chainsaw. Pivot the saw, using the saw's dogs (spikes) as a fulcrum.2009, ForestWorks, Chainsaw Operator's Manual, page 41
  11. A click or pallet adapted to engage the teeth of a ratchet wheel, to restrain the back action.
    Synonyms:
    click, pallet, pawl, ratchet
  12. A metal support for logs in a fireplace.
    • The dogs were too hot to touch.
    • In the great old-fashioned fireplace behind the high iron dogs a log-fire crackled and snapped.1902, Arthur Conan Doyle, The Hound of the Baskervilles
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  1. (historical) A double-ended side spike driven through a hole in the flange of a rail on a tramway.
  2. The eighteenth Lenormand card.
  3. A hot dog: a frankfurter, wiener, or similar sausage; or a sandwich made from this.
    • Congressmen gleefully wolfed down every imaginable version of the hot dog – smoked kielbasas, jumbo grillers, Big & Juicy's, kosher dogs and spiced dogs […]1994 July 21, Faye Fiore, “Congress relishes another franking privilege: Meat lobby puts on the dog with exclusive luncheon for lawmakers – experts on pork”, in Los Angeles Times
  4. (slang) An underdog.
  5. (in plural, slang) Foot; toe.
    • My dogs are barking!
    • You look good in those shoes with your dogs out!
  6. (Cockney, slang) (from "dog and bone") Phone or mobile phone.
    • My dog is dead.
  7. One of the cones used to divide up a racetrack when training horses.
  8. (informal) Something that performs poorly.
    • He gives his dog-Mota or dog-Fiji in exchange for Pigeon English.1885, Robert H. Codrington, The Melanesian Languages, page 143
    • That modification turned his Dodge hemi into a dog.
    1. (informal) A flop; a film that performs poorly at the box office.
      • Blue was released, and as Redford had predicted, it was a dog.1969, Ski, volume 34, number 4, page 121
      • "When The Alamo was coming out, the word of mouth on it was that it was a dog," Chase said.2012, Ronald L. Davis, Duke: The Life and Image of John Wayne
  9. (archaic) A cock, as of a gun.
    • To this succeeded the Snaplance ^([sic]), in which a motion was given to the dog, or cock, and a movable plate of steel, called the frizel, or hammer, was placed vertically above the pan to receive the action of the flint.1832, The Edinburgh Encyclopaedia, volume 10, page 164
  10. (preceded by definite article) A dance having a brief vogue in the 1960s in which the actions of a dog were mimicked.
    • Hmm, see the girl with the red dress on
      She can do the dog all night long.1964, “What'd I Say”, Ray Charles (lyrics), performed by Elvis Presley
    • Just like the dog but not so low
      Like the hully gully but not so slow
      Now baby swim, baby do the swim.1964, “C'mon and Swim”, Thomas Coman and Sylvester Stewart (Sly Stone) (lyrics), performed by Bobby Freeman

Verb

dog (third-person singular simple present dogs, present participle dogging, simple past and past participle dogged)

  1. (transitive) To pursue with the intent to catch.
  2. (transitive) To follow in an annoying or harassing way.
    • The woman cursed him so that trouble would dog his every step.
    • […] they were discovered in a very improper manner by the husband of the gypsy, who, from jealousy it seems, had kept a watchful eye over his wife, and had dogged her to the place, where he found her in the arms of her gallant.1749, Henry Fielding, The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume (please specify |volume=I to VI), London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC
  3. (transitive) To fasten a hatch securely.
    • It is very important to dog down these hatches.
  4. (intransitive, emerging usage in UK) To watch, or participate, in sexual activity in a public place.
    • I admit that I like to dog at my local country park.
    • Lightning [is a] burst of charged particles that lights up the sky and allows onlookers to see who's dogging in the bushes without using a flashlight.2012, The Onion Book of Known Knowledge, page 118
  5. (intransitive, transitive) To intentionally restrict one's productivity as employee; to work at the slowest rate that goes unpunished.
    • A surprise inspection of the night shift found that some workers were dogging it.
    Synonyms:
    soldier, goldbrick
  6. (slang, transitive) To criticize.
    • Harmon Rabb (David James Elliott): Are you dogging Harm's special meatless meatloaf?
      Sarah MacKenzie (Catherine Bell): Let's put it this way. If you were to make the Harmon Special on this ship, they'd have to unload it with the toxic waste.1999 March 30, “Shakedown”, in JAG, season 4, episode 18, via CBS
  7. (transitive) To divide (a watch) with a comrade.
    • A. We never stood 4 to 8 p.m. watches, sir. We dogged our watches.
      Q. I suppose that is 6 to 8 p.m., then; it is a little indistinct. I mean the second dog watch.1902, Winfield Scott Schley, Record of Proceedings of a Court of Inquiry
    • Meanwhile, we dogged the watch sections so that both halves of the crew could fetch full sea bags of uniforms and gear […]2015, Tom Vetter, 30,000 Leagues Undersea

Adjective

dog (not comparable)

  1. (slang) Of inferior quality; very bad.
    • Oh man, this game is absolutely dog!

Noun (2) capitalized: Dog

Dog

  1. (World War II era, joint US/RAF) radiotelephony clear-code word for the letter D.
    Synonyms:
    Delta

Proper noun capitalized: Dog

Dog

  1. (humorous) The language supposedly spoken by dogs
    • Shakespeare could understand Human, the language used by people, as well as Dog, the telepathic speech with which canines communicated with each other.2005, Jean Little, Forward, Shakespeare!, Orca Book Publishers, →ISBN, page 2
    • Lara's biggest frustration was that she could only speak one language – her native tongue of Dog. She would have loved to learn to speak Human but this was beyond the spy-training programme.2006, Andrew Cope, Spy Dog: Captured!, Penguin UK, →ISBN, page 12
    Synonyms:
    dogspeak
  2. The eleventh of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar.
  3. (Geordie, slang) Newcastle Brown Ale
    • This article celebrates the fine city of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, situated in northeast England, and its gentle inhabitants, the Geordies. […] Oh yes. Nothing like a pint of dog to establish oneself as a suave sophisticate.2006, Verity Stob, The Best of Verity Stob, page 8
    • This popularity has led to another nickname for the beer in its local market: the Dog. Pubgoers in the Northeast often refer to their nightly trip to the pub as “going out to walk the dog.” And because Newcastle Brown Ale is often the beer they are seeking, the company has launched a whole new...2017, Ray Daniels, Jim Parker, Brown Ale: History, Brewing Techniques, Recipes, Brewers Publications, →ISBN, page 35
  4. (with-definite-article) The Dog Star; Sirius.
    • But he must ever watch the northern Bear,
      Who from her frozen height with jealous eye
      Confronts the Dog and the Hunter in the south,
      And is alone not dipt in Ocean's stream.1869, Matthew Arnold, Early Poems, Narrative Poems and Sonnets, London: Macmillan and Co., published 1885, page 150

Noun (3) capitalized: DOG

DOG (plural DOGs)

  1. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of digital on-screen graphic.
  2. (abbreviation, initialism) Initialism of digitally originated graphic.

dog meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

dog in Hindi

male canine
कुत्ता kuttā, श्वान śvān, कुक्कुर kukkur
animal
कुत्ता kuttā, कुत्ती kuttī, श्वान śvān, कुक्कुर kukkur, कुक्कुरी kukkurī, कुर्कुर kurkur
morally reprehensible person — see also scoundrel
कुत्ता kuttā

dog in Tamil

male canine
நாய் nāy
animal
நாய் nāy, ஞமலி ñamali, ஞாளி ñāḷi
morally reprehensible person — see also scoundrel
நாய் nāy

dog in Marathi

male canine
कुत्रा kutrā
animal
कुत्रा kutrā

dog in Urdu

animal
کُتّا kuttā, سَگ sag
More languagesFewer languages
dog in Bengali
কুত্তা kutta, কুকুর kukur
dog in Telugu
మగకుక్క magakukka, కుక్క kukka, శునకము śunakamu
dog in Malayalam
നായ nāya, പട്ടി paṭṭi
dog in Kannada
ನಾಯಿ nāyi
dog in Punjabi
ਕੁੱਤਾ kuttā
dog in Gujarati
કુતરો kutro, કુતરી kutrī
dog in Odia
କୁକୁର kukura
dog in Sanskrit
श्वन् śvan, शुनक śunaka, भषक bhaṣaka, कुर्कुर kurkura
dog in Sinhala
බල්ලා ballā, සුනඛයා sunakhayā, බැල්ලී bællī
dog in Assamese
কুকুৰ kukur
dog in Nepali
कुकुर kukura, कुकुरनी kukuranī
dog in Pashto
سپۍ spëy, سپی
dog in Tagalog
aso
dog in Arabic
كَلْب kalb, كلب kalb, چلب čalb
dog in Malay
anjing jantan, asu jantan, serigala jantan, rubah jantan
dog in Indonesian
anjing jantan, anjing, asu, bajingan
dog in Persian
سگ sag, سَگ sag
dog in Thai
หมา mǎa, สุนัข sù-nák
dog in Vietnamese
chó, cẩu, khuyển
dog in Myanmar
ခွေး hkwe:
Sindhi
ڪتو kuto
Dhivehi
ބަޅު baḷu, ކުއްތާ kuttā
Kashmiri
ہوٗن hūn
Dzongkha
ཁྱི khyi

Examples of dog in a sentence

  • It is an insane immolation of self—as bad intrinsically as fakirs stabbing themselves or anchorites warping their spines in caves scarcely large enough for a fair-sized dog.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XVI, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
  • The captive made no resistance and came not only quietly but in a series of eager little rushes like a timid dog on a choke chain.1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 19, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
  • Blasphemous dog, I wonder that the earth / Doth cease from renting vnderneath thy feete, / To swallow vp those cankred corpes of thine.1599, Robert Greene, Alphonsus, King of Aragon, act 3:
  • And Hazael ſaid, But what, is thy ſeruant a dogge, that he ſhould doe this great thing?1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, 2 Kings 8:13, column 1:

All 40 example sentences with dog

Synonyms of dog

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of dog

Forms of dog

Noun
pluraldogs
alternative childishdoggie
alternative childishdoggy
alternative childishdoggy woggy
alternative childishdoggo
alternative Internetdoge
pluralDOGs
alternative pronunciation-spelling (dialectal)darg
alternative pronunciation-spelling (dialectal)dawg
alternative pronunciation-spelling (dialectal)dorg
alternative pronunciation-spelling (dialectal)dug
alternative form (obsolete)dogge
Verb
third-person singular presentdogs
present participledogging
past participledogged
pastdogged

Past tense of dog: dogged

Plural of dog: dogs

Origin of dog

Inherited from Middle English dogge (akin to Scots dug), from Old English dogga, docga, of uncertain origin. The original meaning seems to have been a common dog, as opposed to a well-bred one, or something like 'cur', and perhaps later came to be used for stocky dogs. Possibly a pet-form diminutive with suffix -ga (compare frocga (“frog”), *picga (“pig”)), appended to a base *dog-, *doc- of unclear origin and meaning. One possibility is Old English dox (“dark, swarthy”) (compare frocga from frox). Another proposal is that it derives from Proto-West Germanic *dugan (“to be suitable”), the origin of Old English dugan (“to be good, worthy, useful”), English dow, Dutch deugen, German taugen. The theory goes that it could have been an epithet for dogs, commonly used by children, meaning "good/useful animal". Another one is that it is related to *docce (“stock, muscle”), from Proto-West Germanic *dokkā (“round mass, ball, muscle, doll”), whence English dock (“stumpy tail”). In 14th-century England, hound (from Old English hund) was the general word for all domestic canines, and dog referred to a subtype resembling the modern mastiff and bulldog. By the 16th century, dog had become the...

Clipping of dogshit.

The figurative sense "Newcastle Brown Ale" comes from the euphemism "I'm going to walk the dog" or "I'm going to see a man about a dog", meaning "I'm going to the pub for a drink". This was further popularised by a 1980s advertising campaign.

Words formed from dog

Phrases with dog

176 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with dog

39 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about dog

What does dog mean?
Dog means the species Canis familiaris (sometimes designated Canis lupus familiaris), domesticated for thousands of years and of highly variable appearance because of human breeding.
What is dog in Hindi?
Dog in Hindi is कुत्ता (kuttā), श्वान (śvān), कुक्कुर (kukkur). See Dog meaning in Hindi.
How do you use dog in a sentence?
It is an insane immolation of self—as bad intrinsically as fakirs stabbing themselves or anchorites warping their spines in caves scarcely large enough for a fair-sized dog.
What part of speech is dog?
Dog can be a noun, a verb, an adjective or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce dog?
Dog is pronounced /dɒɡ/ (UK).
What is the plural of dog?
The plural of dog is dogs.

Words near dog in the dictionary

  1. Doftana
  2. Dofteana
  3. Doftănița
  4. dofunnies
  5. dofunny
  6. dog
  7. dog and bone
  8. dog and bones
  9. dog and cat
  10. dog and maggot
  11. dog and pony show

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: dog (page history and authors); Dog (page history and authors); DOG (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-dog.ogg, En-us-ne-dog.ogg.

Cite this entry: “dog.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/dog. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.