(~s, ~ging, ~ged)
Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.
1.
A ~ is a very common four-legged animal that is often kept by people as a pet or to guard or hunt. There are many different breeds of ~.
The British are renowned as a nation of ~ lovers.
N-COUNT
2.
You use ~ to refer to a male ~, or to the male of some related species such as wolves or foxes.
Is this a ~ or a bitch?
? bitch
N-COUNT
3.
If someone calls a man a ~, they strongly disapprove of him.
N-COUNT disapproval
4.
People use ~ to refer to something that they consider unsatisfactory or of poor quality. (AM INFORMAL)
N-COUNT disapproval
5.
If problems or injuries ~ you, they are with you all the time.
His career has been ~ged by bad luck.
= plague
VERB: V n
6.
see also ~ged , guide ~ , prairie ~ , sniffer ~
7.
You describe something as a ~’s breakfast or ~’s dinner in order to express your disapproval of it, for example because it is very untidy, badly organized, or badly done. (BRIT INFORMAL)
= mess
PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR after v disapproval
8.
You use ~ eat ~ to express your disapproval of a situation where everyone wants to succeed and is willing to harm other people in order to do so.
It is very much ~ eat ~ out there...
= cut-throat
PHRASE: v-link PHR, PHR n disapproval
9.
If you say that something is going to the ~s, you mean that it is becoming weaker and worse in quality. (INFORMAL)
They sit in impotent opposition while the country goes to the ~s.
PHRASE: V inflects disapproval