dog

DAWG/dɔɡ/DOG/dɒɡ/

Pluraldogs

Verbdogs, dogging, dogged

25 meanings of dog

Practice

1
pet animalnouncountable or uncountable
A common four-legged animal kept as a pet or for work, related to wolves.
The dog barked at the mail carrier all afternoon.
Our neighbors adopted two dogs from the shelter.
UsageWe say walk the dog or take the dog for a walk.
Similarcanine, hound
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2
sausagenouncountable or uncountable
A hot dog sausage, or one served in a long soft bun.
He grabbed a dog from the cart and smothered it in mustard.
They sold hundreds of dogs at the ballpark that night.
UsageYou can say chili dog or corn dog, or just dog when people know you mean food.
Similarfrankfurter, frank, wiener
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3
keep troublingverbtransitive
To follow someone closely and not stop, or to keep causing someone trouble for a long time.
Like a puppy that follows your heels everywhere you go.
Reporters dogged the senator for weeks after the scandal broke.
Bad luck seemed to dog him at every turn.
UsageOften dogged by: dogged by bad luck.
Similarhound, plague, haunt, trail, pursue
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4
wolf familynouncountable or uncountable
Any animal in the wider family that includes pet dogs, wolves, foxes, and coyotes.
A fox is a kind of wild dog, a cousin of both the wolf and the family pet.
Wolves, jackals, and other dogs all share a common ancestor.
Similarcanid
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Less common meanings

5
worthless personnounderogatorycountable or uncountable
A person seen as cowardly, worthless, or wicked.
You cowardly dog, how could you abandon your friends?
They called the traitor a dog and turned their backs on him.
UsageOften in the insult you dirty dog.
Similarrat, scoundrel, cur, wretch, swine
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6
man (casual)nounslangcountable or uncountable
An informal word for a man or guy, often with a word like lucky or clever before it.
You lucky dog, how did you land that job?
He's a sly old dog who always gets his way.
UsageUsually you lucky dog or you clever dog, said to a friend.
Similarguy, fellow, devil, chap
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7
failed productnouncolloquialcountable or uncountable
Something that does badly or fails, such as a film that few people pay to see.
Like a toy that breaks the first day you use it.
That used car turned out to be a real dog.
The new phone was a dog, slow and full of bugs.
UsageWe say something is a dog or a real dog.
Similarflop, dud, lemon, turkey, failure
Oppositehit, success, winner
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8
expected to losenounslangcountable or uncountable
In a game or bet, the player or team not expected to win.
Like the small team everyone thinks will lose the big match.
Everyone bet against them because they were the dog in the match.
Our team was a six-point dog, but we still won the game.
Similarunderdog, outsider
Oppositefavorite
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9
meatnoununcountable
The meat from dogs, eaten as food in some places.
In some regions, dog is still served at traditional feasts.
He politely refused to eat dog while traveling abroad.
UsageLike chicken: people eat dog. A dog is the animal.
10
male animalnouncountable or uncountablebefore a noun
A male animal of the dog family, not a female.
The breeder kept one dog and three females for the program.
Hunters could tell the dog from the vixen by its larger size.
Oppositebitch, vixen
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11
gripping devicenouncountable or uncountable
A metal part in a machine or tool that grips something or holds it in place.
Like a small hook that grabs and holds a part so it cannot move.
The machinist tightened the dog to hold the workpiece steady.
A small dog catches the gear so the winch can't spin backward.
Similarclamp, catch
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12
insult (looks)nounslangderogatorycountable or uncountable
A cruel word for a girl or woman seen as plain and boring.
The other kids cruelly called her a dog behind her back.
He regretted calling her a dog just because he didn't think she was pretty.
UsageOften in a real dog. Know it, but don't say it.
13
verbslangtransitive
To say mean or critical things about someone.
He dogged the movie in his review, calling it slow and boring.
Critics love to dog his films before they even open.
UsageYou can dog someone or dog on them; in formal writing, say criticize.
Similarcriticize, knock, slam, trash, diss
Oppositepraise, compliment
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14
slack offverbslangtransitive or intransitive
To try less hard than you can on purpose, at work or in sport.
Like doing your chores in slow motion so nobody asks you to do more.
They dog it on every task the manager gives them.
The coach benched him for dogging it in practice.
UsageUsually dog it. Keep the it, or people may hear a sexual meaning.
Similargoldbrick, soldier
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15
footnounslangcountable or uncountableplural
A person's foot or toe.
My dogs are killing me after that long walk.
She took off her shoes and rubbed her tired dogs.
UsageMy dogs are barking means my feet hurt.
Similarfoot
16
adjectiveslang
Very bad, cheap, or badly made.
UsageNo a: the food is dog, or absolutely dog.
Similarlousy, awful, terrible, rubbish, garbage
Oppositegreat, excellent
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17
public sexverbslangUKintransitive
To take part in or watch sex happening in a public outdoor place.
Some couples go dogging in quiet parking lots after dark.
They were caught dogging in the woods near the lake.
UsageMostly go dogging. It is a sexual word, so be careful with it.
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18
log holdernouncountable or uncountable
A metal stand that holds logs up off the floor of a fireplace.
Like a metal rack that keeps firewood lifted so air can flow underneath.
She rested the logs across the iron dogs in the hearth.
An old brass dog held the burning wood off the floor.
UsageUsually plural: iron dogs, also called andirons.
Similarandiron, firedog
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19
close a hatchverbtransitive
To shut and lock a hatch tightly using its metal clamps.
Like turning the little clamps to lock a pressure cooker lid down tight.
Dog the hatch before the storm hits.
The sailors dogged every door on the lower deck.
UsageOften dog down the hatches.
Similarsecure, fasten, seal, clamp
Oppositeunfasten, open
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20
predatory mannounslangcountable or uncountable
A man who is very pushy and aggressive about wanting sex.
He's a real dog, always chasing every woman at the bar.
After the divorce, her brother turned into a dog, hitting on every woman he met.
Similarlecher, womanizer, wolf, lech
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21
phonenoundialectalCockneycountable or uncountable
A telephone, especially a cell phone.
Pick up the dog. It's been ringing for ages.
Give me a call on the dog tonight.
UsageUsually on the dog: get on the dog.
Similarphone, blower
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22
gun hammernounarchaiccountable or uncountable
The part of an old gun that snaps forward to fire it, also called the hammer.
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23
noun
A 1960s dance in which people copied the moves of a dog.
24
noun
One of the cones set out to mark off parts of a track when training horses.
25
verb
To split a turn of guard or watch duty with a fellow worker.

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of dog apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–15, 17–22

This word comes from Old English 'dogga' or 'docga'. Where it came from before that is not known for sure. It seems first to have meant a common dog, and later became the general word for all dogs.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

The word descends from Old English docga or *dogga. en.wiktionary.org
Its earlier origin is uncertain. repozytorium.amu.edu.pl
Its original meaning appears to have been a common dog. en.wiktionary.org
It subsequently became the general word for dogs. en.wiktionary.org

Meaning 16

A short form of the word 'dogshit'.

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

Dog, in its slang adjective sense, is a short form of dogshit. en.wiktionary.org