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.

See Examples For:

bulldog ant

A bulldog ant must have stung the boss.

From My Brilliant Career by Franklin, Miles

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)

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)

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