kennel
1 Americannoun
-
a house or shelter for a dog or a cat.
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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)
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kennels,
present (3rd person singular)
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kenneled,
past participle, past
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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
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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
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a ramshackle house; hovel
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a pack of hounds
verb
noun
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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kennelsimple
-
kennelssimple
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have kenneledperfect
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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:
“The Exorcist” star Linda Blair had her property searched by law enforcement officers who were investigating and inspecting her kennel operation with more than 100 dogs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 3, 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
Every kennel here is full when we visit and many of them are covered by screens, because some of the dogs are so volatile our presence could provoke them.
From BBC ● Mar. 30, 2026
Adopters are still welcome to meet shelter animals through their kennel doors.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 13, 2026
Bat climbed up on a counter across from the big silver washbasin and watched as Laurence bent down to open the far kennel.
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
A German Shepherd dog, understood to have been involved in the incident, had been seized by police officers and remained in police kennels, the spokesperson added.
From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2026
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
Under a $1.6-million annual contract with the city, a nonprofit group called Dogs Playing for Life ensures that shelter dogs get out of their kennels for walks, play time with other canines and human interaction.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 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
Many of them lived in kennels built on deck by dour old McNeish, the carpenter.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
Experts might call that a good thing, since most rescues work with fosters, and it's healthier for adoptable felines to be cared for in private home settings than kenneled for long periods.
From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2024
Shelter staff had recommended in his file that he be placed in a home with no other dogs, though Benavidez saw him kenneled with another dog in the shelter with no apparent issues.
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
The dog, kenneled near, had given tongue as they left the house.
From Starvecrow Farm by Stanley J. Weyman
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
And at last it slept soundly, kennelled between two warm hands, and continued its adventures in dreams.
From Essays in Rebellion by Henry W. Nevinson
From far over the hill came the faint periodic yell of kennelled hounds; while from the nearest village resounded the voices of boys at play in the twilight.
From A Laodicean : a Story of To-day by Thomas Hardy
He teases into growling the kennelled thunder, and laughs at the shaking of its fiery chain.
From Shelley; an essay by Francis Thompson
Even the dogs had been kennelled, and the pious monks were healthfully occupied in the religious offices of the vespers.
From The Headsman The Abbaye des Vignerons by James Fenimore Cooper
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
The author takes up the origin and history of the breed, its development, breeding, kenneling, and training.
From Taxidermy by Leon Luther Pray
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
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
But right soon a message reached him, from Rehoboth, of southern Massachusetts north of Rhode Island, that Head Captain Annawan was "kenneling" in Squannaconk Swamp, and plundering the farms outside.
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
In a statement, South Wales Police said seized dogs are "transported to secure kennelling sites" where specially trained officers will assess the dog.
From BBC ● Mar. 22, 2025
Forces in England and Wales say the costs of kennelling thousands of seized dogs, often for months at a time, have risen sixfold to £25m a year and many facilities were at capacity.
From BBC ● Dec. 19, 2024
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
I would have seen thee before but had to attend to the kennelling of the hounds.
From Red Cap Tales Stolen from the Treasure Chest of the Wizard of the North by Sir Walter Scott
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.
