kennel
1 Americannoun
-
a house or shelter for a dog or a cat.
-
Often kennels an establishment where dogs or cats are bred, raised, trained, or boarded.
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the hole or lair of an animal, especially a fox.
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a wretched abode likened to a doghouse.
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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.
verb (used with object)
-
kennels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
kenneled,
past participle, past
-
kennelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
kenneling,
present participle
-
kennelling
present participle (especially British)
verb (used without object)
-
kennels,
present (3rd person singular)
-
kenneled,
past participle, past
-
kennelled,
past participle, past (especially British)
-
kenneling,
present participle
-
kennelling
present participle (especially British)
noun
noun
-
US name: doghouse. a hutlike shelter for a dog
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(usually plural) an establishment where dogs are bred, trained, boarded, etc
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the lair of a fox or other animal
-
a ramshackle house; hovel
-
a pack of hounds
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
kennelsimple
-
kennelssimple
-
have kenneledperfect
-
have kennelledperfect
-
has kenneledperfect
-
has kennelledperfect
-
am kennelingprogressive
-
am kennellingprogressive
-
are kennelingprogressive
-
are kennellingprogressive
-
is kennelingprogressive
-
is kennellingprogressive
-
have been kennelingperfect progressive
-
have been kennellingperfect progressive
-
has been kennelingperfect progressive
-
has been kennellingperfect progressive
Past
-
kenneledsimple
-
kennelledsimple
-
had kenneledperfect
-
had kennelledperfect
-
was kennelingprogressive
-
was kennellingprogressive
-
were kennelingprogressive
-
were kennellingprogressive
-
had been kennelingperfect progressive
-
had been kennellingperfect progressive
Future
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
Explanation
A kennel is a structure or business that houses animals, particularly dogs and cats. You might leave your dog at a kennel while you go on vacation. You might have a small kennel for your dog in your backyard, or have your pet groomed or boarded at a professional kennel. Some kennels are kept for breeding animals — when you buy a puppy from a breeder, you might pick him up at a kennel. The word kennel, by way of the Anglo-French kenil, and the Vulgar Latin canile, has its roots in the Latin canis, or "dog."
Vocabulary lists containing kennel
Dog Vocabulary: A Canine Lexicon
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The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl
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A Boy Called Bat
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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:
Husband-and-wife team Andy and Kelly Smíšek opened the two-acre facility in 2016 in a home they converted into a makeshift kennel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
"My wife and son have evacuated, but I'm staying because I want to be able to help my brother-in-law, who runs a kennel with 60 dogs, if they need to be evacuated," he said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
When I sent a picture of the economy-pod setup, more than a few friends said it looked like a dog kennel.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026
Volunteers and community members have voiced concerns to the Animal Services Commission about poor conditions causing kennel stress, or behavioral decline in animals inside the shelter, sometimes leading to euthanasia.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 17, 2026
He still doesn’t have a kennel to call his own.
From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty
Evidence from his son's cell phone indicated, however, that Murdaugh was the only person with his wife and son at the estate's dog kennels several minutes before they were killed.
From Barron's ● May 13, 2026
Sri Lanka's police kennels department was mobilised to ensure that local street dogs did not attack Aloka, who was led on a leash held by an army commando.
From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026
Dogs at the Chesterfield Square animal shelter have been kept inside their kennels for three weeks due to a giardia outbreak.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 3, 2026
Panorama was given rare access to one of the private specialist kennels now regularly used to hold these dogs since XL bully bans were introduced across the UK in 2024.
From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2026
The dogs were housed in kennels built on deck, where they snapped and lunged at anyone who passed too close.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
Rapaport volunteers to be kenneled while “Big Brother” contestant Tiffany Mitchell takes it on herself to fight for him.
From Salon ● Jan. 15, 2026
Babs and Bugs were two stray Belgian Malinois picked up Jan. 21 and kenneled together at the Palmdale shelter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 3, 2023
The prison authorities let them keep the dog kenneled in their cell as part of a program in which they train the animal for later use as a service dogs for disabled people.
From The Guardian ● Jul. 31, 2018
“He’s not getting the treatment he needs. He’s being kenneled like an animal.”
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 3, 2014
Sir, this theory, this belief that a self-governing people cannot make war without forfeiting their freedom and their form of government is vicious enough to have been kenneled in some foreign clime.
From Current History: A Monthly Magazine of the New York Times, May 1918 Vol. VIII, Part I, No. 2 by Various
After 40 years in captivity they kept their spirits up by caring for a dog kennelled in their cell which they trained to work with vulnerable individuals.
From The Guardian ● May 25, 2019
In Anglesey he built a castle, and kennelled the hounds he loved so well in a church, to find them all mad the next morning.
From Mediæval Wales Chiefly in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries: Six Popular Lectures by A. G. (Andrew George) Little
"Well, I'm not too sure it's proper for you to be here as long as you have no dog kennelled here."
From Man of Many Minds by E. Everett (Edward Everett) Evans
With difficulty they broke the chain whereby he had been held like a kennelled hound, and bore him, still senseless, up the long passages, Bolle going ahead as guard and Jeffrey Stokes following after.
From The Lady of Blossholme by Henry Rider Haggard
Here he kennelled it and waited his chance.
From The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
He envisions having informational screenings playing in the waiting room, building on awareness programs the community is already doing on best practices like leashing and kenneling to keep pets from harm.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 27, 2021
I have reliable word that he is kenneling in Squannaconk and doing much damage.
From Boys' Book of Frontier Fighters by Edwin L. (Edwin Legrand) Sabin
The author takes up the origin and history of the breed, its development, breeding, kenneling, and training.
From Taxidermy by Leon Luther Pray
His book discusses types, methods of training, kenneling, diseases and all the other practical points relating to the use and care of the hound.
From Reading the Weather by Thomas Morris Longstreth
It was a snug, well-protected kenneling place, surrounded by the swamp.
From Boys' Book of Frontier Fighters by Edwin L. (Edwin Legrand) Sabin
The council said they had been told by their kennelling contractor that the dogs were "a German Shepherd type".
From BBC ● Jan. 11, 2026
"We have police struggling to enforce and respond to dog incidents, huge delays getting to court costing hundreds of thousands in kennelling and police costs," she says.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2025
Fincham was ordered to pay £3,680 in total, including a £2,000 contribution to kennelling costs, a fine of £961 and £200 compensation to Mr Sudell.
From BBC ● Jan. 29, 2025
They had thought that fifteen people might attend, to see their demonstration of a lion-proof enclosure made with kennelling materials available at Home Depot.
From The New Yorker ● Feb. 5, 2017
The kennelling for the poor animals was got up under the supervision of Ap and Seth himself.
From Wild Adventures round the Pole The Cruise of the "Snowbird" Crew in the "Arrandoon" by Gordon Stables
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