golden retriever

American  

noun

golden retrievers plural

1. one of an English breed of retrievers having a thick, flat or wavy, golden coat.

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golden retriever British  

noun

1. a compact large breed of dog having a silky coat of flat or wavy hair of a gold or dark-cream colour, well-feathered on the legs and tail

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• golden retrievers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of golden retriever

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

And, of course, a cute-as-a-button golden retriever who can shoot hoops as well as he can act is always going to hit the mark, he said.

From Barron's • May 10, 2026

By scanning the entire genome of each golden retriever, they identified genetic markers that appeared more frequently in dogs displaying particular behavioral traits.

From Science Daily • Mar. 7, 2026

Sparky and Lopez’s second dog, a golden retriever named Blazer, both went missing Dec. 3 shortly after the porch pirate was captured on a Ring camera leaving the yard with the gate wide open.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 18, 2025

Preparing for the role in his hotel room, he once found himself mimicking the facial movements of his golden retriever, Layla.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 30, 2025

Kind of like a golden retriever, as insulting as that is to Bieber Spier.

From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli