terrier
/ˈtɛɹiə/
More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations
Australia/ˈteɹiə/
terrier noun: a dog from a group of small, lively breeds, originally bred for the hunting of burrowing prey such as rats, rabbits, foxes, and even otters; this original function is reflected in some of their names (e.g. rat terrier).
Noun (1)
terrier (plural terriers)
- A dog from a group of small, lively breeds, originally bred for the hunting of burrowing prey such as rats, rabbits, foxes, and even otters; this original function is reflected in some of their names (e.g. rat terrier).
- Someone displaying terrier-like qualities such as determined pursuit.
- One of the LNER dispatch staff is a terrier when it comes to masks, challenging anyone without them.2020 November 4, Paul Bigland, “At no point have I felt unsafe...”, in Rail, page 47
Noun (2)
terrier (plural terriers)
Noun (3)
terrier (plural terriers)
terrier meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu
terrier in Hindi
- टेरियर, टेरीयर
terrier in Tamil
- டெர்ரியர் நாய் இனம், வேட்டைநாய்
terrier in Marathi
- टेरियर, टेरीअर, टेरीयर
terrier in Urdu
- ٹیریر, ٹیرئیر, ٹیریئر
More languagesFewer languages
- terrier in Bengali
- টেরিয়ার, টেরিয়ের
- terrier in Telugu
- టెర్రియర్, టెరియర్
- terrier in Malayalam
- ചെറുനായ, വേട്ടപ്പട്ടി, ഭൂസ്വത്തുക്കളുടെ വിശദരേഖ
- terrier in Kannada
- ಸಣ್ಣ ಬೇಟೆನಾಯಿ
- terrier in Punjabi
- ਟੈਰੀਅਰ, ਟੇਰੀਅਰ, ਟੈਰਿਅਰ
- terrier in Gujarati
- ટેરિયર, ટેરીયર, ટેરીઅર
- terrier in Odia
- ଟେରିଯ଼ର, ଟେରିଯ଼ର୍, ଟେରିଆର୍
- terrier in Nepali
- टेरियर, टेरीयर, टेरेयर
- terrier in Malay
- anjing terrier
- terrier in Vietnamese
- chó sục, chó đào đất
Examples of terrier in a sentence
- The litter was the fruit of the union between our whippet and their terrier.
- On seeing the little brown terrier, Annie and Marie looked at one another.
- He appeared to be a sweet zany golden retriever, possibly with some overjuiced terrier stirred in.
Forms of terrier
| plural | terriers |
|---|---|
| alternative form | tarrier |
Origin of terrier
Borrowed from Middle French, from Old French chien terrier (“terrier dog”), from chien (“dog”) + Old French terrier (“of earth”, adjective), from Medieval Latin terrarius (“of earth”), from Latin terra (“earth”).
Borrowed from Anglo-Norman terrier, from Old French terrier (“of earth”, adjective), from Medieval Latin terrarius (“of earth”), from Latin terra (“earth”).
Compare Latin terō (“to rub, to rub away”), terebra (“a borer”).
Words formed from terrier
- Aberdeen terrier
- Airedale terrier
- American hairless terrier
- Bedlington Terrier
- Boston terrier
- Brazilian terrier
- bull terrier
- cairn terrier
- Cesky terrier
- Clydesdale terrier
- fox terrier
- Irish terrier
- Jack Russell terrier
- Kerry blue terrier
- Lakeland terrier
- Ormskirk terrier
- pit bull terrier
- rat terrier
- Scotch terrier
- Scottish terrier
- Sealyham terrier
- Skye terrier
- smooth fox terrier
- Staffordshire bull terrier
- taco terrier
- teacup terrier
- terrierlike
- terrierman
- toy fox terrier
- Welsh terrier
- West Highland White Terrier
- wheaten terrier
- wire fox terrier
- wire-haired terrier
- working terrier
- Yorkshire terrier
Phrases with terrier
Questions about terrier
- What does terrier mean?
- Terrier means a dog from a group of small, lively breeds, originally bred for the hunting of burrowing prey such as rats, rabbits, foxes, and even otters; this original function is reflected in some of their names (e.g. rat terrier).
- What is terrier in Hindi?
- Terrier in Hindi is टेरियर, टेरीयर. See Terrier meaning in Hindi.
- What part of speech is terrier?
- Terrier is a noun.
- How do you pronounce terrier?
- Terrier is pronounced /ˈtɛɹiə/ (UK).
- What is the plural of terrier?
- The plural of terrier is terriers.
Words near terrier in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: terrier (page history and authors); terrier (Hindi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); terrier (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); terrier (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); terrier (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); terrier (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); terrier (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); terrier (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); terrier (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); terrier (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); terrier (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); terrier (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); terrier (Nepali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). 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.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-terrier.wav.
Cite this entry: “terrier.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/terrier. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.