dingo
Americannoun
plural
dingoes-
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
-
-
to act in a cowardly manner
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to drop out of something
-
-
(foll by on) to let (someone) down
Etymology
Origin of dingo
First recorded in 1789, dingo is from the Dharuk word din-gu tame dingo
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.
Wildlife experts said killing the animals was the wrong response and may threaten the island's dingo population, estimated at just 70-200 animals.
From Barron's • Jan. 28, 2026
Piper James, 19, had "physical evidence consistent with drowning" and "injuries consistent with dingo bites", a spokesperson for the Coroners Court of Queensland told BBC news.
From BBC • Jan. 23, 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
It's said that a dog is a man's best friend, but the wild dingo is much maligned in Australia.
From Science Daily • Oct. 20, 2023
The dingo reached Australia at the peak of the Austronesian expansion from South China through Indonesia.
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.
