bulldog ant

American

noun

any of several aggressive ants of the genus Myrmecia, mostly of Australia and Tasmania, capable of inflicting a painful and potentially dangerous sting.

bulldog ant British

noun

another name for bull ant

"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 bulldog ant

First recorded in 1850–55

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.

A bulldog ant must have stung the boss.

From My Brilliant Career by Franklin, Miles

There is one specially vicious ant called the bulldog ant, because of its pluck.

From Peeps At Many Lands: Australia by Spence, Percy F. S. (Percy Frederick Seaton)

Try to kill the bulldog ant with a stick, and it will face you and try to bite back until the very last gasp, never thinking of running away.

From Peeps At Many Lands: Australia by Spence, Percy F. S. (Percy Frederick Seaton)

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