[bull.dog] n (ca. 1500) 1: any of a breed of compact muscular short-haired dogs having widely separated forelegs and an undershot lower jaw that were developed in England to fight bulls
2: a handgun with a thick usu. short barrel
3: a proctor's attendant at an English university
[2]bulldog adj (1855): suggestive of a bulldog "~ tenacity" [3]bulldog vt (1907): to throw (a steer) by seizing the horns and twisting the neck -- bull.dog.ger n -- bull.dog.ging n