dingo

[ding-goh]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR dingo ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural din·goes.

a wolflike, wild dog, Canis familiaris dingo, of Australia, having a reddish- or yellowish-brown coat.

Australian. a cowardly or treacherous person.

Origin of dingo

First recorded in 1789, dingo is from the Dharuk word din-gu tame dingo

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for dingo

mutt, pooch, pup, cur, wolf, chow, hound, dingo, fox, hyena, coyote, jackal, lobo

Examples from the Web for dingo

Contemporary Examples of dingo

Dingo attacks are generally the result of how a human acts toward them.
Pets or Predators? 10 Things About Australia’s Famous Dog, the Dingo
Meredith Kaufman
June 13, 2012
Georgina stepped in between the dingo and her baby sister just before their mother was able to scare the dingo away.
Pets or Predators? 10 Things About Australia’s Famous Dog, the Dingo
Meredith Kaufman
June 13, 2012
Although it is rare, dingo attacks on humans have been known to occur.
Pets or Predators? 10 Things About Australia’s Famous Dog, the Dingo
Meredith Kaufman
June 13, 2012
Dingo packs are highly territorial and an intruding dingo will likely be killed.
Pets or Predators? 10 Things About Australia’s Famous Dog, the Dingo
Meredith Kaufman
June 13, 2012
At the time, the dingo was semi-domesticated and is believed to be the common ancestor of all breeds today.
Pets or Predators? 10 Things About Australia’s Famous Dog, the Dingo
Meredith Kaufman
June 13, 2012

Historical Examples of dingo

So, then he of the tight coat and cocked-hat was a king—King “Dingo Bingo!”
Ran Away to Sea
Mayne Reid
In that garden I also saw the wild Australian dog—the dingo.
Following the Equator, Complete
Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)
You only shot once at the dingo—there are two chambers empty in this revolver.
Queensland Cousins
Eleanor Luisa Haverfield
Tall and strong, the boy was as alert and suspicious as a dingo.
Tropic Days
E. J. Banfield
They do not bark, but have the long melancholy howl of the dingo or wild dog of Australia.
Narrative Of The Voyage Of H.M.S. Rattlesnake, Commanded By The Late Captain Owen Stanley, R.N., F.R.S. Etc. During The Years 1846-1850. Including Discoveries And Surveys In New Guinea, The Louisiade Archipelago, Etc. To Which Is Added The Account Of Mr. E.B. Kennedy's Expedition For The Exploration Of The Cape York Peninsula. By John Macgillivray, F.R.G.S. Naturalist To The Expedition. In Two Volumes. Volume 1.
John MacGillivray

British Dictionary definitions for dingo

dingo

noun plural -goes

a wild dog, Canis dingo, of Australia, having a yellowish-brown coat and resembling a wolf

Australian slang a cheat or coward

verb -goes, -going or -goed (intr) Australian slang

to act in a cowardly manner
to drop out of something

(foll by on) to let (someone) down

Word Origin for dingo

C18: native Australian name

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

Word Origin and History for dingo

1789, Native Australian name, from Dharruk (language formerly spoken in the area of Sydney) /din-go/ "tame dog," though the English used it to describe wild Australian dogs. Bushmen continue to call the animal by the Dharruk term /warrigal/ "wild dog."