Word.ws English Dictionary

double dog dare

Syllables: doub·le dog dareUK/ˌdʌbl̩ dɒɡ ˈdɛə//ˌdʌb(ə)l dɔɡ ˈdɛ(ə)ɹ/

double dog dare verb: an intensified form of dare (“to challenge (someone) to do something”).

Verb

double dog dare (third-person singular simple present double dog dares, present participle double dog daring, simple past and past participle double dog dared)

  1. (US, informal, transitive) An intensified form of dare (“to challenge (someone) to do something”).
    • I double dog dare you to ask her out!
    • In Mississippi dare and double dog dare are used by children in quarrelling. Dog dare and double black dog dare I never have heard.[1893, H[ubert] A[nthony] Shands, “[Supplement.] Dare.”, in Some Peculiarities of Speech in Mississippi, [Miss.?]: [H. A. Shands]; Boston, Mass.: Norwood Press; J. S. Cushing & Company, →OCLC, page 71

Noun

double dog dare (plural double dog dares)

  1. (US, informal) An intensified form of dare (“a challenge to prove courage”), frequently used after the dared person initially refuses.
    • I didn't need Phil tossing out double-dog dares.2004, Evelyn Vaughn, chapter 1, in Her Kind of Trouble, Richmond, Surrey: Silhouette Sensation, →ISBN, page 8
    • Someone once wrote in to my radio show and double-dog dared me to address a certain issue on the porch. Their suggestion isn't important to our discussion, but their complete mishandling of the double-dog dare is very alarming.2008, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, “Buns in the Oven: What Southern Mamas Tell Their Daughters about Having and Raising Children (with Bread Recipes for All Your Little Honeybuns)”, in Suck Your...

Examples of double dog dare in a sentence

  • ["]She'd do anything if you double dog dared her." / "Double dog dared?" I said. / "Yeah." She sat up, plunking another stack of pictures into my hands.1996, Sarah Dessen, chapter 6, in That Summer, New York, N.Y.: Orchard Books, →ISBN, page 81:
  • "Pull the trigger, I dare ya." / "He double dog dares ya!" Robin yells as she continues her search for the lost button.2011 November 14, Spider Hacksaw [pseudonym], Dystopia, Bloomington, Ind.: AuthorHouse, →ISBN, page 64:

Forms of double dog dare

Verb
third-person singular presentdouble dog dares
present participledouble dog daring
past participledouble dog dared
pastdouble dog dared
alternative formdouble-dog dare
alternative formdouble-dog-dare
Noun
pluraldouble dog dares

Origin of double dog dare

An emphatic extension of double dare, possibly playing on the alliterative and forceful nature of the word dog.

Words that rhyme with double dog dare

48 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about double dog dare

What does double dog dare mean?
Double dog dare means an intensified form of dare (“to challenge (someone) to do something”).
How do you use double dog dare in a sentence?
["]She'd do anything if you double dog dared her." / "Double dog dared?" I said. / "Yeah." She sat up, plunking another stack of pictures into my hands.
What part of speech is double dog dare?
Double dog dare can be a verb or a noun.
How do you pronounce double dog dare?
Double dog dare is pronounced /ˌdʌbl̩ dɒɡ ˈdɛə/ (UK).
What is the past tense of double dog dare?
The past tense of double dog dare is double dog dared.

Words near double dog dare in the dictionary

  1. double dips
  2. double dispatch
  3. double dispatches
  4. double dissolution
  5. double doctoring
  6. double dog dare
  7. double dog dared
  8. double dog dares
  9. double dog daring
  10. double dong
  11. double dongs

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: double dog dare (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: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Naomi Persephone Amethyst (NaomiAmethyst)-double dog dare.wav.

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