dog it
Idioms-
Do less than is required; loaf or shirk. For example, I'm afraid our donors are dogging it this year . This expression originated in sports and soon was transferred to other endeavors. [ Slang ; c. 1900]
-
Move slowly, as in We just dogged it along from California to Oregon .
-
Run away, as in Let's dog it out of here right now . This usage originated in American underworld slang in the 1920s, where it meant “to back down in cowardly fashion,” and acquired its present sense about 1930.
-
Same as put on the dog .
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.
As heartbreaking as it is to give up your dog, it is possible to live without one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 31, 2026
While socialization is beneficial for any dog, it also greatly improves a shelter dog’s chances of adoption, which is a matter of survival.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2025
"I feel sad that there's this thing almost automatically between us because of the type of dog it is."
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2025
Meet the raccoon dog; it earns its name from its black facial markings, which give the animal a masked appearance and a more-than-passing resemblance to those infamous raiders of urban trash cans.
From New York Times ● Mar. 17, 2023
Through the rain I can immediately tell which dog it is.
From "A Soft Place to Land" by Janae Marks
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.
