/ dɒg; NAmE dɔːg/ noun , verb
■ noun
1.
[ C ] an animal with four legs and a tail, often kept as a pet or trained for work, for example hunting or guarding buildings. There are many types of dog, some of which are wild :
I took the dog for a walk.
I could hear a dog barking.
dog food
guard dogs
a dog and her puppies
—see also guide dog , gun dog , hearing dog , lapdog , prairie dog , sheepdog , sniffer dog , tracker dog
2.
[ C ] a male dog, fox or wolf
—compare bitch
3.
the dogs [ pl. ] ( BrE , informal ) greyhound racing
4.
[ C ] ( informal , especially NAmE ) a thing of low quality; a failure :
Her last movie was an absolute dog.
5.
[ C ] ( informal ) an offensive way of describing a woman who is not considered attractive
6.
[ C ] ( informal , disapproving ) used, especially after an adjective, to describe a man who has done sth bad :
You dirty dog!
—see also hot dog , shaggy-dog story , top dog , watchdog
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IDIOMS
- (a case of) dog eat dog
- a dog in the manger
- a dog's breakfast / dinner
- a dog's life
- every dog has his / its day
- give a dog a bad name
- go to the dogs
- not have a dog's chance
- why keep a dog and bark yourself?
—more at hair , rain verb , sick adjective , sleep verb , tail noun , teach
■ verb ( -gg- ) [ vn ]
1.
( of a problem or bad luck ) to cause you trouble for a long time :
He had been dogged by bad health all his life.
2.
to follow sb closely :
She had the impression that someone was dogging her steps.
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WORD ORIGIN
Old English docga , of unknown origin.