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.
The alumni-relations office emailed a winsome sketch of the school’s mascot, Jack the Bulldog, in party hat and surrounded by balloons.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 2, 2026
He was still a Ferris State Bulldog 12 months ago, while the kicker who laced the 47-yard field goal only arrived in the offseason from Western Kentucky.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 2, 2026
Wilson’s countersuit in Boone County, Mo., says he was among a small group of Bulldog stars pressured into signing the contract Dec. 21, 2024.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 24, 2025
His own dog, French Bulldog Vivienne, won the competition in 2021.
From BBC • Sep. 12, 2025
The players knelt before him as willing, eager supplicants, echoing his phrases with their own uncontrolled snatches in the brightly lit room, which was decorated in the Bulldog color of passion purple.
From "Friday Night Lights: A Town, A Team, And A Dream" by H.G. Bissinger
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.
