dog-eared
Americanadjective
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having dog-ears
-
shabby or worn
Etymology
Origin of dog-eared
First recorded in 1775–85
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.
If journalism is the first draft of history, documentary filmmaking is often an overdue, dog-eared galley proof with no cover art.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 25, 2025
A school notebook, dusty and dog-eared, peeked from the rubble.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 12, 2025
"This one changed my life," he says, pulling out a dog-eared copy of Pete Rock's They Reminisce Over You.
From BBC • Sep. 15, 2025
He read and dog-eared a copy of Dr. Raymond DePaulo’s “Understanding Depression.”
From New York Times • Mar. 31, 2023
Some of these paperbacks have been through a lot: pages tinted brown from coffee spills, dog-eared corners, highlighted paragraphs and pencil markings in the margins.
From "The Sea in Winter" by Christine Day
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.
