dogged
1 Americanadjective
adjective
adjective
Related Words
See stubborn.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dogged
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English: “having characteristics of a dog”; see dog, -ed 3
Explanation
Someone who's dogged is stubbornly persistent. In the old Looney Tunes cartoons, Wile E. Coyote's pursuit of the Road Runner is dogged. He simply will not give up. You can see the word dog within the word dogged. It's no trick. If you're dogged, you are as obstinate and tenacious as a dog who smells a bone. An earlier definition of this adjective was more general, meaning "having the qualities of a dog." Today, though, if someone describes you as dogged, they simply mean that you won't stop until you get what you want.
Vocabulary lists containing dogged
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Dogged by injuries, she has made more appearances off the bench in the past three years than she has started games, with her time at City unravelling before her switch to Arsenal in January 2025.
From BBC • Apr. 25, 2026
Dogged management will also be essential to break bureaucratic inertia and turf wars among the services.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 16, 2025
Dogged by rumors that his lack of discipline in conditioning and workouts led to his trade from Dallas, Lakers star Luka Doncic embarked on lifestyle changes he says will go beyond the offseason.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 30, 2025
Dogged by debt, over-optimistic financial forecasting, leadership turnover and overreliance on a small group of funders, the museum patched holes by creating new ones.
From Seattle Times • May 5, 2024
Dogged and imperious, with a handlebar mustache that seemed to bend his smile into a perpetual scowl, Bateson was unmoved by equations.
From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
