kennel

¹ American  

[ken-l] / ˈkɛn l /

noun

1. a house or shelter for a dog or a cat.

2. Often kennels an establishment where dogs or cats are bred, raised, trained, or boarded.

3. the hole or lair of an animal, especially a fox.

4. a wretched abode likened to a doghouse.

5. Rare. a pack of dogs, especially hunting dogs.

   He inherited his love of quail hunting from his father who'd gifted him a kennel of pointers.

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verb (used with object)

kenneled, kenneling, kennelled, kennelling

1. to put into or keep in a kennel.

   to kennel a dog for a week.

verb (used without object)

kenneled, kenneling, kennelled, kennelling

1. to take shelter or lodge in a kennel.

kennel ² American  

[ken-l] / ˈkɛn l /

noun

1. an open drain or sewer; gutter.

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kennel ¹ British  

/ ˈkɛnəl /

noun

1. US name: doghouse.  a hutlike shelter for a dog

2. (usually plural) an establishment where dogs are bred, trained, boarded, etc

3. the lair of a fox or other animal

4. a ramshackle house; hovel

5. a pack of hounds

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verb

1. to put or go into a kennel; keep or stay in a kennel

kennel ² British  

/ ˈkɛnəl /

noun

1. archaic an open sewer or street gutter

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Etymology

Origin of kennel¹

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English kenel, from unattested Anglo-French kenil ( French chenil) from unattested Vulgar Latin canīle ( Latin can(is) “dog” + -īle suffix of place)

Origin of kennel²

First recorded in 1575–85; variant of earlier cannel, Middle English canel channel ¹

Example Sentences

One of the organization’s greatest expenses during the fire was specialized veterinary equipment, such as oxygen kennels.

From Los Angeles Times

An outbreak of infection has left dogs stuck in their kennels for three weeks at a South Los Angeles shelter.

From Los Angeles Times

It was just a dog kennel, a smallish one, blue plastic with a handle on the top and a black grate door that locked.

From Literature

It was unclear why the card on the outside of Valerio’s kennel, which notes behavior problems for staffers and volunteers, didn’t include his bite history, Wright’s attorneys said.

From Los Angeles Times

Rapaport volunteers to be kenneled while “Big Brother” contestant Tiffany Mitchell takes it on herself to fight for him.

From Salon

Related Words

• enclosure