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  • frog
    frog
    noun
    any tailless, stout-bodied amphibian of the order Anura, including the smooth, moist-skinned frog species that live in a damp or semiaquatic habitat and the warty, drier-skinned toad species that are mostly terrestrial as adults.
  • Frog
    Frog
    noun
    a derogatory word for a French person
Synonyms

frog

1 American  
[frog, frawg] / frɒg, frɔg /

noun

  1. any tailless, stout-bodied amphibian of the order Anura, including the smooth, moist-skinned frog species that live in a damp or semiaquatic habitat and the warty, drier-skinned toad species that are mostly terrestrial as adults.

  2. Also called true frog, ranid. any frog of the widespread family Ranidae, most members of which are semiaquatic and have smooth, moist skin and relatively long hind legs used for leaping.

  3. a slight hoarseness, usually caused by mucus on the vocal cords.

    a frog in the throat.

  4. (often initial capital letter) a contemptuous term used to refer to a French person or a person of French descent.

  5. a small holder made of heavy material, placed in a bowl or vase to hold flower stems in position.

  6. a recessed panel on one of the larger faces of a brick or the like.

  7. Music. nut.


verb (used without object)

  • frogs,
    present (3rd person singular)
  • frogged,
    past participle,  past
  • frogging
    present participle
  1. to hunt and catch frogs.

adjective

  1. (often initial capital letter) French or Frenchlike.

frog 2 American  
[frog, frawg] / frɒg, frɔg /

noun

  1. an ornamental fastening for the front of a coat, consisting of a button and a loop through which it passes.

  2. a sheath suspended from a belt and supporting a scabbard.


frog 3 American  
[frog, frawg] / frɒg, frɔg /

noun

  1. Railroads. a device at the intersection of two tracks to permit the wheels and flanges on one track to cross or branch from the other.


frog 4 American  
[frog, frawg] / frɒg, frɔg /

noun

Zoology.
  1. a triangular mass of elastic, horny substance in the middle of the sole of the foot of a horse or related animal.


frog 1 British  
/ frɒɡ /

noun

  1. any insectivorous anuran amphibian of the family Ranidae , such as Rana temporaria of Europe, having a short squat tailless body with a moist smooth skin and very long hind legs specialized for hopping

  2. any of various similar amphibians of related families, such as the tree frog

  3. any spiked or perforated object used to support plant stems in a flower arrangement

  4. a recess in a brick to reduce its weight

  5. phlegm on the vocal cords that affects one's speech

"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

verb

  1. (intr) to hunt or catch frogs

"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
frog 2 British  
/ frɒɡ /

noun

  1. (often plural) a decorative fastening of looped braid or cord, as on the front of a 19th-century military uniform

  2. a loop or other attachment on a belt to hold the scabbard of a sword, etc

  3. music

    1. the ledge or ridge at the upper end of the fingerboard of a violin, cello, etc, over which the strings pass to the tuning pegs

    2. Also called (in Britain and certain other countries): nut. the end of a violin bow that is held by the player

"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

Frog 3 British  
/ frɒɡ /

noun

  1. a derogatory word for a French person

"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

frog 4 British  
/ frɒɡ /

noun

  1. a tough elastic horny material in the centre of the sole of a horse's foot

"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

frog 5 British  
/ frɒɡ /

noun

  1. a grooved plate of iron or steel placed to guide train wheels over an intersection of railway lines

"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

Sensitive Note

The use of the word frog to mean “a French person” is a slur that arose because the French were stereotypically thought of as eating frogs.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of frog1

First recorded before 1000; Middle English frogge, Old English frogga, frocga; compare dialectal Middle English frosh, Old Norse froskr, Old High German frosk ( German Frosch ); frog 1 defs. 5, 6 of unclear derivation

Origin of frog2

First recorded in 1710–20; perhaps from Portuguese froco, from Latin floccus “tuft of wool”; see flock 2

Origin of frog3

An Americanism dating back to 1840–50; of uncertain origin

Origin of frog4

First recorded in 1600–10; compare earlier frush in same sense, probably from French fourchette “fork” ( see fourchette); presumably identified with dialectal frosh “frog,” hence with frog 1

Explanation

A frog is a small amphibian with long back legs that allow it to hop. Most frogs have fat little bodies and bulging eyes on top of their heads. You'll often find frogs near fresh water lakes and ponds, since they lay their eggs in the water. Perhaps the most famous literary frog is the one from the German fairy tale "The Frog Prince," in which a princess's kiss transforms a frog back into the prince he once was. Frog is also a very rude informal term for a person from France.

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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.

See Examples For:

OpenAI’s Dots agents, which also launched last month, let users pick from fuzzy characters like Todd the frog, digital pets or custom-designed avatars.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 3, 2026

Suddenly, the frog jumped out of the pot.

From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026

They also examined external features, skeletal anatomy, and frog calls.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026

The other is an extinct species of tree frog in Florida, according to the museum’s news release.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026

Omakayas wanted to ask her for a story, but she knew that her Nokomis always refused, no matter how hard they begged, until the last frog was safely sleeping in the ground.

From "The Birchbark House" by Louise Erdrich

While Parton’s most obvious Muppet counterpart is Miss Piggy, her duet with Kermit the Frog, performed on a 1987 episode of her variety show, encapsulates everything we adored about her — and him.

From Salon ● Aug. 29, 2026

If you'd closed your eyes you'd have been forgiven for thinking Kermit the Frog was answering BBC reporter Kelly Somers' questions.

From BBC ● Jul. 17, 2026

In front of each row stands a smiling Kermit the Frog, happy to play her photographer.

From Salon ● Feb. 28, 2026

And then there are the Frog Lake huts themselves, which are modern and cozy, with heat, electricity, beds, bathrooms and a full kitchen.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 18, 2026

The main, still reefed, he tightened a bit to match the jib and the Frog seemed to leap ahead.

From "The Voyage Of The Frog" by Gary Paulsen

I pivoted back to the overlook, where a beautiful white ibis was hunting for frogs.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

Certain species are extremely round and resemble the rain frogs found in mainland Africa, spending much of their time concealed beneath the forest floor.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026

Most diamond frogs look brown at first, but several species have vivid markings that remain hidden until the frogs move.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 30, 2026

It’s not clear when the trafficked animals might join the roughly 12,000 turtles, frogs, octopuses, penguins, sharks and other sea creatures currently on public display.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 28, 2026

They skimmed along the bottom and turned over rocks to flush out frogs and fish.

From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer

Among the cargo were several cases of Stanley's favorite Madeira and a frogged coat which he intended to wear when the white Pasha was sighted.

From Time Magazine Archive

As a Cathedral Dean he wears four frogged buttons on his cuff There are six buttons on his cutaway coat.

From Time Magazine Archive

Dressed up in an elaborate frogged coat and sword, he was honored by budding Novelist Fanny Burney, who praised him as a "lyon of lyons."

From Time Magazine Archive

From Windsor with his good wife and the Prince of Wales he drove through the rain in a landau drawn by six perfectly matched greys mounted by postillions in scarlet coats frogged with gold.

From Time Magazine Archive

The strange thing about them was their clothing, for the boys were dressed in the straight trousers and the frogged and braided jackets of the Chinese.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

When it came to clothing he allowed himself extraordinary freedom, the frogging on uniforms or lace on a dress sketched in thick impasto rather than being laboriously defined.

From The Guardian ● Sep. 26, 2015

And her young protégé Chris Van Hollen hails from the same state as Hoyer — Maryland — complicating any lea- frogging.

From Time ● Dec. 18, 2013

The film has it more or less right: a dark blue coat with silver frogging and braided epaulettes, partnered with skintight white breeches.

From The Guardian ● Oct. 5, 2012

Hence the nod to military influences — the Burberry heritage — presented as a much slimmer, belted jacket or a cardigan fastened with military frogging.

From New York Times ● Feb. 21, 2011

The uniform is sky blue with black frogging and shiny gold buttons.

From Letters from my Windmill by Alphonse Daudet

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