collie

American  

[kol-ee] / ˈkɒl i /

noun

• collies
  plural

1. one of a breed of dogs having a usually long, black, tan, and white or sable and white coat, raised originally in Scotland for herding sheep.

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collie British  

/ ˈkɒlɪ /

noun

1. any of several silky-coated breeds of dog developed for herding sheep and cattle See Border collie rough collie bearded collie

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• collielike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• collies
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of collie

1645–55; perhaps Scots colle coal (in reference to the original coloration of the breed) + -ie; compare Middle English Colle dog's name

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Compare meaning

How does collie compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• Shetland sheepdog vs. collie

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

collie collies

Roper, who lives with his wife, Janny, 44, and their border collie Rosie, four, said: "I've never won anything before in my life. I suppose I've just been saving it all up for this."

From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026

Florsheim has two dogs: Leo, a two-year-old German shepherd he calls “a bit of a handful,” and Rosie, a six-year-old border collie mix.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026

Runner-Up: I also let Instagram totally inundate me with border collie videos.

From Slate ● Dec. 28, 2024

Soon after, Sagi started her competitive dog dancing journey with Pessah, a rescue border collie she got when he was about 1½.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2024

I met him at a time when I used to take out a most beautiful collie called Budleigh for a lady who owned a sweetshop.

From "My Life with the Chimpanzees" by Jane Goodall

The couple's own border collies, Odín and Kun-kun, have taken part in several of their research projects - including this one.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

The most remarkable of the test cases seen in this very entertaining program are Australian shepherds and border collies, which are known for their intelligence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 3, 2026

His border collies greeted him at the door.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 29, 2024

So far, almost all the agility championships have gone to border collies, and nearly all the obedience titles to Labs.

From Washington Times ● May 5, 2023

"Someone has written a book about the intelligence of animals. Border collies are smartest."

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg

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