dog whistle
dog whistle noun: a high-pitched whistle, generally inaudible to humans, used to train dogs.
Noun
dog whistle (plural dog whistles)
- A high-pitched whistle, generally inaudible to humans, used to train dogs.
- Synonyms:
- silent whistle, Galton's whistle
- That which is understood only by a narrow demographic.
- But like a lot of these cult comedies, Cabin Boy was a dog whistle few could hear, and critics and audiences dismissed it quickly and forcefully: It left theaters with grosses south of $4 million and earned Elliott a “Worst New Star” Razzie nomination, no doubt for the adenoidal voice common to all...2012, 22 March, Scott Tobias, AV Club Cabin Boyhttp://www.avclub.com/articles/cabin-boy,71269/
- A political allusion or comment that only a certain audience is intended to note and recognize the significance of; particularly in relation to controversial or extreme viewpoints.
- On the lips of Premier Mike Harris, the term ‘special interest’ has the tone of epithet. It’s an all-purpose dog-whistle that those fed up with feminists, minorities, the undeserving poor hear loud and clear.1995 October 15, Jim Coyle, Ottawa Citizen, p a9/1
- Putting “globalist” in quotes suggests a jest or in-joke of sorts, so it’s at least possible this wasn’t intended as some kind of anti-Semitic dog whistle.2018 March 9, Bret Stephens, “In Praise of Globalists”, in New York Times
- Synonyms:
- codeword
dog whistle meaning in Tamil
dog whistle in Tamil
- குழூஉக்குறி
Examples of dog whistle in a sentence
- “I think Republicans have been very savvy – really ruthless – in exploiting that.” / Or as Regalado, a Republican, puts it: “It’s our dog whistle.2022 December 25, Joshua Chaffin, “Florida’s red wave: How Republicans turned Miami’s Latino voters away from Democrats”, in The Irish...
- It’s a dog whistle,” Wright reportedly said.2022 December 26, Grace Adams, “Former New Roads teacher files lawsuit against school for wrongful termination, discrimination”, in Santa...
Synonyms of dog whistle
Forms of dog whistle
| plural | dog whistles |
|---|---|
| alternative form | dogwhistle |
Origin of dog whistle
dog + whistle. The figurative senses derive from the whistle's sound frequency, which is too high to be heard by human but can be heard by dogs.
Words formed from dog whistle
Questions about dog whistle
- What does dog whistle mean?
- Dog whistle means a high-pitched whistle, generally inaudible to humans, used to train dogs.
- What is dog whistle in Tamil?
- Dog whistle in Tamil is குழூஉக்குறி. See Dog whistle meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use dog whistle in a sentence?
- “I think Republicans have been very savvy – really ruthless – in exploiting that.” / Or as Regalado, a Republican, puts it: “It’s our dog whistle.
- What part of speech is dog whistle?
- Dog whistle is a noun.
- What is the plural of dog whistle?
- The plural of dog whistle is dog whistles.
Words near dog whistle in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: dog whistle (page history and authors); dog whistle (Tamil Wiktionary) (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:
Cite this entry: “dog whistle.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/dog_whistle. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.