dog
noun /dɒɡ/
/dɔːɡ/
Idioms - [countable] 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'm just going to walk the dog.
- I could hear a dog barking.
- Stray dogs roamed the streets at night.
- dog walkers/owners
- dog food/biscuits
- a dog and its puppies
- A labrador is a breed of dog.
Extra ExamplesTopics Animalsa1- She often stops to chat to other dog walkers.
- Owners who allow their dogs to foul the footpath will be fined.
- A dog was gnawing at an old bone.
- A dog was sniffing around my heels.
- Bad dog! What are you doing there?
- He's trained his dog to sit on the back of his bike.
- She was bitten by a dog.
- Races have been held at this dog track for seventy years.
- They moved into a flat and couldn't take their pet dog.
- He worked for the police as a dog handler.
- This is a working dog, not a pet.
- The chihuahua is one of the hardest to train of all dog breeds.
- Rex was a champion show dog.
- They roam the streets like packs of wild dogs.
- The dog barked loudly at the stranger.
- The dog bounded up to me and started licking my hand.
- When it saw him, the dog began wagging its tail.
- The dog chewed up one of my shoes.
- The dog was scratching at the door to be let in.
- The dog went for him and bit him twice on the leg.
- The dog's owner was banned from keeping dogs for five years.
- The little dogs were yapping at my ankles.
- The stray dogs are wormed and treated with flea powder.
- These dogs were bred to hunt small animals.
- We didn't want puppies so we had the dog neutered.
- A dog that savaged a five-year-old child was later destroyed, police have confirmed.
- We recently had to put our dog to sleep.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- domestic
- family
- pet
- …
- pack
- have
- keep
- own
- …
- bark
- bay
- howl
- …
- basket
- biscuit
- food
- …
- [countable] a male dog, fox, wolf or otter compare bitchTopics Animalsb2
- the dogs[plural] (British English, informal) greyhound racing
- [countable] (especially North American English, informal) a thing of low quality; a failure
- Her last movie was an absolute dog.
- [countable] (informal) an offensive way of describing a woman who is not considered attractive
- [countable] (informal, disapproving) used, especially after an adjective, to describe a man who has done something bad
- You dirty dog!
see also chili dog, corn dog, hot dog, shaggy-dog story, top dog, watchdog
Word OriginOld English docga, of unknown origin.
Idioms
be raining cats and dogs
- (informal) to be raining heavily
a dog and pony show
- (North American English, informal, disapproving) an event that is planned only in order to impress people so that they will support or buy something
- the dog and pony show of his visits to the war zone
- a dog and pony show to sell the idea to investors
(a case of) dog eat dog
- a situation in business, politics, etc. where there is a lot of competition and people are willing to harm each other in order to succeed
- I'm afraid in this line of work it's a case of dog eat dog.
- We're operating in a dog-eat-dog world.
a dog in the manger
- a person who stops other people from enjoying what he or she cannot use or does not want
a dog’s breakfast/dinner
- (British English, informal) a thing that has been done badly synonym mess
- He's made a real dog's breakfast of these accounts.
a dog’s life
- an unhappy life, full of problems or unfair treatment
- He led poor Amy a dog’s life. She was desperately lonely, poor dear.
every dog has his/its day
- (saying) everyone has good luck or success at some point in their lifeTopics Successc2
give a dog a bad name
- (saying) when a person already has a bad reputation, it is difficult to change it because others will continue to blame or suspect him/her
go to the dogs
(North American English also go to hell in a handbasket)
- (informal) to get into a very bad state
- This firm's gone to the dogs since the new management took over.
a/the hair of the dog (that bit you)
- (informal) alcohol that you drink in order to make you feel better when you have drunk too much alcohol the night before
have a dog in the fight
(North American English also have a dog in the race/hunt)
- (informal) to be involved in a situation so that you will gain or lose according to the result
- I really don't have a dog in this fight, so I can just enjoy the game.
- The employees have a dog in the hunt, so their views should be listened to.
let sleeping dogs lie
- (saying) to avoid mentioning a subject or something that happened in the past, in order to avoid any problems or arguments
like a dog (informal)
- extremely hard
- I've been working like a dog recently.
- in a very bad or cruel way
- They treated him like a dog.
like a dog with a bone
- (informal) very determined and refusing to give up
- When she sensed a good story she was like a dog with a bone.
not have a dog’s chance
- to have no chance at all
- He hasn't a dog's chance of passing the exam.
(as) sick as a dog
- (informal) feeling very sick; vomiting a lot
the tail (is) wagging the dog
- used to describe a situation in which the most important aspect is being influenced and controlled by somebody/something that is not as important
(you can’t) teach an old dog new tricks
- (saying) (you cannot) successfully make people change their ideas, methods of work, etc., when they have had them for a long time
throw somebody to the dogs
- to allow somebody to suffer or be punished in an unfair way, as if they have no value
- Her boss collects a big retirement cheque while she is thrown to the dogs.
why keep a dog and bark yourself?
- (informal, saying) if somebody can do a task for you, there is no point in doing it yourself