dingo
Americannoun
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a wolflike, wild dog, Canis familiaris dingo, of Australia, having a reddish- or yellowish-brown coat.
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Australian. a cowardly or treacherous person.
noun
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a wild dog, Canis dingo, of Australia, having a yellowish-brown coat and resembling a wolf
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slang a cheat or coward
verb
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to act in a cowardly manner
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to drop out of something
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(foll by on) to let (someone) down
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of dingo
First recorded in 1789, dingo is from the Dharuk word din-gu tame dingo
Explanation
A dingo is a wild Australian dog, a very distant relative of the pup curled up on your sofa. Dingoes are sometimes called "singing dogs" for the wide variety of howls they use to communicate. Dingoes have lived in Australia for at least 3,500 years, and they're the largest carnivorous mammal on the continent (besides humans). These medium-sized brown and white dogs live and hunt in family groups, preying on rabbits, small rodents, and helping to control some invasive species like the red fox. Dingo comes from the Native Australian Dharruk language, meaning "tame dog."
Vocabulary lists containing dingo
Australia and New Zealand - Introductory
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Australia and New Zealand - Middle School and High School
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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.
"Pre-mortem dingo bite marks are not likely to have caused immediate death," said a spokesperson for the Coroners Court of Queensland.
From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026
Altadena was where people raised chickens before it was trendy, where no one batted an eye at the neighbors with a pet dingo, or thought much about the so-called haunted road said to defy gravity.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 7, 2026
The researchers examined remains at the Curracurrang archaeological site, south of Sydney, where radiocarbon dating of dingo bones revealed the animals were buried alongside humans as far back as 2,000 years ago.
From Science Daily • Oct. 20, 2023
The dingo was the second on the island in recent weeks to be killed for biting and threatening behavior.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 19, 2023
There is no evidence of any new technology or introduction reaching Australia from Indonesia, after Australia’s initial colonization 40,000 years ago, until the dingo appeared around 1500 B.C.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
