beagle

[ bee-guhl ]

noun

1. one of a breed of small hounds having long ears, short legs, and a usually black, tan, and white coat.

beagle

/ ˈbiːɡəl /

noun

1. a small sturdy breed of hound, having a smooth dense coat usually of white, tan, and black; often used (esp formerly) for hunting hares
2. archaic.
   a person who spies on others

verb

1. intr to hunt with beagles, normally on foot

Word History and Origins

Origin of beagle¹

1490–1500; perhaps < Middle French beegueule one who whines insistently, equivalent to bee, 3rd person singular of beer to be open, gape (by-form of bayer ( bay ² ) + gueule mouth (of an animal); gullet

Word History and Origins

Origin of beagle¹

C15: of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

The false claim about the funding for the beagle study, research that was conducted in Tunisia, originated with an error by scientists.

From Washington Post

Meet Sally, the 10-year-old beagle with her pal, 10-month-old Sarah Beth, submitted by Keith of Petal, MS.

From Time

If you have a small dog, like a beagle or dachshund, you probably don’t need a bed larger than 35 inches.

From Popular-Science

Thank you Penny the pocket beagle for keeping my parents from feeling so alone and isolated while they endure nearly a year without seeing their grandkids.

From Washington Post

Their size — just about a half meter long, or about the size of a beagle — made the team initially think that it had stumbled upon baby nothosaurs, says Xiao-Chun Wu, a paleobiologist at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa.

From Science News

All this time his beagle lay motionless on the floor in the entry hall.

From The Daily Beast

There was a brief attempt to train a beagle named Python Pete to track the snakes.

From The Daily Beast

Those who desire the results of keen observation on the subject should turn to Darwin's "Voyage of the Beagle."

From Project Gutenberg

Abram Beagle was likewise, and before he married Mrs. Rhodes, a contractor on the road.

From Project Gutenberg

He tells how an opportunity was given him of reading the proofs of Darwin's Voyage of the Beagle.

From Project Gutenberg

In more modern times, another fatality occurred during the expedition of the Adventure and Beagle, 1832.

From Project Gutenberg

It has been seen how he read the proof-sheets of the Voyage of the 'Beagle' while still in his last year of medical study.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• detective
• gumshoe
• private eye
• private investigator
• sleuth