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Labrador retriever

American  

noun

  1. one of a breed of retrievers having a short, thick, oily, solid black or yellow coat, raised originally in Newfoundland.


Labrador retriever British  

noun

  1. Often shortened to: Labrador.   lab.  a powerfully-built variety of retriever with a short dense usually black or golden-brown coat

"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

Etymology

Origin of Labrador retriever

First recorded in 1905–10

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:

Wearing her blue harness, this restless brown Labrador retriever ventures into the debris of buildings that collapsed in the earthquakes of June 24.

From Barron's Jul. 5, 2026

A 12-year-old Labrador retriever named Sugar was sprawled on a hardwood floor of a Brooklyn apartment.

From The Wall Street Journal May 17, 2026

When Emily, a 12-year-old black Labrador retriever in Texas, began showing signs of old age— intermittent limping and inability to jump on the bed—her owner, Maxine Clegg, started getting nervous about her best friend.

From Slate Apr. 23, 2025

Combs spent her childhood exploring her village alongside Rosebud, a Labrador retriever mix.

From Science Daily Dec. 4, 2024

Arnold, a well-behaved yellow Labrador retriever, was larger than Ginger and was—quite decidedly and obviously—male.

From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg

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