black dog
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of black dog
First recorded in 1700–10
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.
He previously told The Times his epiphany came during a road trip in 1979, when he rescued a stray black dog in apparent distress in the Angeles National Forest.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 4, 2026
She said the black dog "came running towards them".
From BBC ● Mar. 6, 2025
He sat in a loud, gas-guzzling Jeep Cherokee with a hyper black dog panting in the back.
From New York Times ● Oct. 9, 2022
When the black dog, as Winston Churchill called his depression, nipped at his heels, Buchwald turned to humor, “the greatest defense in the world.”
From Washington Post ● Sep. 9, 2022
She flicked her hand at the black dog Hecuba.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
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.
