black dog


nounInformal.
  1. melancholy; despondency; the blues: The black dog is over him.

Origin of black dog

1
First recorded in 1700–10

Words Nearby black dog

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use black dog in a sentence

  • When the devil next appeared—this time like a black dog—he found James Device in the right temper for a deed of wickedness.

    Witch, Warlock, and Magician | William Henry Davenport Adams
  • I had been right and wrong too, for on the doorstep there was a large black dog.

  • I do believe the black dog is off his back for good and all.'

    The Heir of Redclyffe | Charlotte M. Yonge
  • At once the king changed into a great black dog, that sprang upon her with fiery throat and glowing eyes.

    The Science of Fairy Tales | Edwin Sidney Hartland
  • It was taken and destroyed by the Christians, and its owner was transformed into a great black dog ever watching his treasure.

    The Science of Fairy Tales | Edwin Sidney Hartland

British Dictionary definitions for black dog

black dog

noun
  1. informal depression or melancholy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012