sea dog
Americannoun
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Informal. a sailor, especially an old or experienced one.
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a dogfish.
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Informal. a pirate or privateer.
noun
Etymology
Origin of sea dog
First recorded in 1590–1600
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.
"Well, sticking, as it were, to the truth, they were not," replied the old Sea-Dog, very gruffly.
From Davy and The Goblin What Followed Reading 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' by Bensell, Edmund Birckhead
But, after all, it is the whole Sea-Dog war, and not any single battle or campaign, that really made those vast changes in world-history which we enjoy today.
From Flag and Fleet How the British Navy Won the Freedom of the Seas by Wood, William Charles Henry
In any case, he is the only man who ever properly described the daily work on board a Sea-Dog ship.
From Flag and Fleet How the British Navy Won the Freedom of the Seas by Wood, William Charles Henry
Sea-Dog courage counted for much against the Great Armada; but Sea-Dog skill for more.
From Flag and Fleet How the British Navy Won the Freedom of the Seas by Wood, William Charles Henry
"A dog-watch keeps a watching on a bark," said the old Sea-Dog; "and a watch-dog keeps a barking on a watch."
From Davy and The Goblin What Followed Reading 'Alice's Adventures in Wonderland' by Bensell, Edmund Birckhead
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.