dogberry

[ dawg-ber-ee, -buh-ree, dog- ]

noun,plural dog·ber·ries.
  1. the berry or fruit of any of various plants, as the European dogwood, Cornus sanguinea, the chokeberry, Aronia arbutifolia, or the mountain ash, Sorbus americana.

  2. the plant itself.

  1. any of several plants, especially the dog rose, bearberry, and guelder rose.

Origin of dogberry

1
First recorded in 1545–55; dog + berry

Words Nearby dogberry

Other definitions for Dogberry (2 of 2)

Dogberry
[ dawg-ber-ee, -buh-ree, dog- ]

noun,plural Dog·ber·rys for 2.
  1. a foolish constable in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.

  2. any foolish, blundering, or stupid official.

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How to use dogberry in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for dogberry (1 of 2)

dogberry1

/ (ˈdɒɡˌbɛrɪ, -bərɪ, -brɪ) /


nounplural -ries
  1. any of certain plants that have berry-like fruits, such as the European dogwood or the bearberry

  2. the fruit of any of these plants

British Dictionary definitions for dogberry (2 of 2)

dogberry2

/ (ˈdɒɡˌbɛrɪ, -bərɪ, -brɪ) /


nounplural -ries
  1. (sometimes capital) a foolish, meddling, and usually old official

Origin of dogberry

2
after Dogberry, character in Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing (1598)

Derived forms of dogberry

  • dogberryism, noun

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