bulldog
Americannoun
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one of an English breed of medium-sized, short-haired, muscular dogs with prominent, undershot jaws, usually having a white and tan or brindled coat, raised originally for bullbaiting.
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Informal. a stubbornly persistent person.
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a short-barreled revolver of large caliber.
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Metallurgy. slag from a puddling furnace.
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an assistant to the proctor at Oxford and Cambridge universities.
adjective
verb (used with object)
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to attack in the manner of a bulldog.
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Western U.S. to throw (a calf, steer, etc.) to the ground by seizing the horns and twisting the head.
noun
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a sturdy thickset breed of dog with an undershot jaw, short nose, broad head, and a muscular body
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(at Oxford University) an official who accompanies the proctors on ceremonial occasions
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commerce a fixed-interest bond issued in Britain by a foreign borrower
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of bulldog
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:
Known for his folksy charm, Justice now appears at Senate committee meetings with his English bulldog Babydog, who has become a fixture on Capitol Hill and had her “testimony” entered into the Congressional Record.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026
Boasberg appears well aware of Trump’s bulldog approach on social media.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 17, 2026
Ferrari's Lewis Hamilton races for the first time since the death of his bulldog Roscoe last weekend.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2025
“God, it’s been so much fun,” she says as her French bulldog, Banksy, yips at her feet.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2025
The bulldog growls and barks at Cocoa from a window.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
As I said, bulldogs have a unique physique that can age them more quickly.
From MarketWatch ● May 19, 2026
Because bulldogs are only supposed to live until 8 or 10, he is kind of middle-aged.
From MarketWatch ● May 19, 2026
Other popular members of this snub-nosed club include English bulldogs, Boston terriers, pugs and Brussels griffons.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 28, 2025
Like any pet, bulldogs can turn naughty when bored.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2025
But all through class, I can’t stop picturing Morgan holed up in her house, surrounded by pictures of bulldogs.
From "Leah on the Offbeat" by Becky Albertalli
One of the Africans who publicly agreed with Stevenson was Nigeria's earthy, bulldogged Foreign Minister Jaja Wachuku, who noted that the wild, radical charges were not "the only opinion that exists within the African scene."
From Time Magazine Archive
Hughes's bulldogged determination could make things interesting at the end.
From Time Magazine Archive
Next day one was still at large in the countryside; the other was bulldogged after he darted into a ball game, tossed two would-be captors, and tried to gore an automobile.
From Time Magazine Archive
The Federal Board took its cues from the State but the final decision on the status of any lot of oil actually rested on a bulldogged, stone-steady gentleman named Captain E. N. Stanley.
From Time Magazine Archive
While he groused about so preposterous an idea, the kid laid down the mat he never used, bulldogged him down to it, pulled off his shoes and draped a blanket over him.
From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli
“And the amount of energy and the amount of focus you need to have in bulldogging is the same as in football.”
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 12, 2023
Fort Collins, for instance, was supposed to have goat roping, steer bulldogging competitions, a shooting exhibition from the U.S.
From Slate ● Jul. 4, 2021
William “Bill” Pickett was a famous rodeo star credited with founding the sport bulldogging, also known as steer wrestling.
From Fox News ● Jul. 3, 2020
“Some guys just have a knack of bulldogging their way through an inning, you know?”
From New York Times ● Oct. 12, 2014
Mr. Huxley stopped in a few times while they were there, to take breaks from his bulldogging and to get more direction and advice from Charles.
From "Charles and Emma: The Darwins' Leap of Faith" by Deborah Heiligman
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.
