dog-eared
Americanadjective
-
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
"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
All these years later, the books on my nightstand are highlighted, annotated and dog-eared.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 15, 2024
He read and dog-eared a copy of Dr. Raymond DePaulo’s “Understanding Depression.”
From New York Times • Mar. 31, 2023
And maybe that’s what this beanfield could impart to a down-in-the-dumps, dog-eared town like Milagro.
From "The Milagro Beanfield War" by John Nichols
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.
