black dog

American

noun

Informal.

melancholy; despondency; the blues.

The black dog is over him.

black dog British

noun

informal depression or melancholy

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Before the final quietus came to him, there were several occasions on which the Black dog, called Death, had almost caught him in his jaws.

From Vanishing Roads and Other Essays by Le Gallienne, Richard

Black dog slipped through a swinging gate and Miss Elizabeth followed him into an olive, orchard of small dimensions.

From Out of the Triangle: a story of the Far East by Bamford, Mary E. (Mary Ellen)

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023