Illustration of terrier
terrier
noun
ter·ri·er ˈter-ē-ər 
ˈte-rē-
: any of various usually small energetic dogs originally used by hunters to dig for small game and engage the quarry underground or drive it out
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web This is true for all of them- from the nuisance alligators down even to our terrier. 
Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 31 Aug. 2022 Her terrier followed her, and the labradoodle later returned home. Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY, 24 Aug. 2022 Luckily, Cody, the Patriarcas' Labrador retriever, heard his sibling dog's screams and took action by scaring the coyote, causing the predator to drop the terrier from its mouth. Shafiq Najib, PEOPLE.com, 23 June 2022 At times Rylance’s Leonard has the eyes of an anxious terrier, wary and alert. Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 18 Mar. 2022 Quinn, my own eight-pound chihuahua/terrier mix, was a rescue. Kirbie Johnson, Allure, 23 Feb. 2022 Jasmine Trinca’s Marcel!, which sees Alba Rohrwacher’s eccentric artist actually searching for her beloved performing terrier (called, of course, Marcel). Alex Ritman, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 May 2022 Archie, the 8-pound terrier, was off his leash, visiting other passengers in his train car, cheering them up, including the Salosalova family from the besieged port city of Mariupol. Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2022 Bella's story starts in Saginaw Country, Michigan, where a postal worker found the pit bull terrier painfully tangled up in her tether in a yard with no food, water, or shelter. Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, 4 Apr. 2022 See More
Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 31 Aug. 2022 Her terrier followed her, and the labradoodle later returned home. Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAY, 24 Aug. 2022 Luckily, Cody, the Patriarcas' Labrador retriever, heard his sibling dog's screams and took action by scaring the coyote, causing the predator to drop the terrier from its mouth. Shafiq Najib, PEOPLE.com, 23 June 2022 At times Rylance’s Leonard has the eyes of an anxious terrier, wary and alert. Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 18 Mar. 2022 Quinn, my own eight-pound chihuahua/terrier mix, was a rescue. Kirbie Johnson, Allure, 23 Feb. 2022 Jasmine Trinca’s Marcel!, which sees Alba Rohrwacher’s eccentric artist actually searching for her beloved performing terrier (called, of course, Marcel). Alex Ritman, The Hollywood Reporter, 21 May 2022 Archie, the 8-pound terrier, was off his leash, visiting other passengers in his train car, cheering them up, including the Salosalova family from the besieged port city of Mariupol. Los Angeles Times, 6 May 2022 Bella's story starts in Saginaw Country, Michigan, where a postal worker found the pit bull terrier painfully tangled up in her tether in a yard with no food, water, or shelter. Kelli Bender, PEOPLE.com, 4 Apr. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Middle English terryer, terrer, from Anglo-French (chen) terrer, literally, earth dog, from terre earth, from Latin terra
First Known Use
15th century, in the meaning defined above
Phrases Containing terrier
Kids Definition
terrier
noun
ter·ri·er ˈter-ē-ər
: a usually small dog originally used by hunters to force animals from their holes