mutt
Americannoun
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a dog, especially a mongrel.
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a stupid or foolish person; simpleton.
noun
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an inept, ignorant, or stupid person
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a mongrel dog; cur
Etymology
Origin of mutt
1900–05, short for muttonhead
Explanation
A mutt is any dog that's a combination of different breeds, rather than one identifiable breed. Your beloved mutt might be as big as a Golden Retriever but with short, Corgi-like legs. Most dogs are mutts, and many of their owners are fine with the word mutt, despite the word's original implication of "inferior, mixed breed dog." Dogs called crossbreeds are deliberately bred to combine characteristics of two or more recognized breeds, while mutts — also known as mongrels — are the result of accidental mixing of breeds. In the late 1800s, mutt was a derogatory term meaning either "stupid person" or "stupid dog."
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.
Shania Twain may not have forgiven ex-husband Mutt Lange for his affair, but she’s not letting it keep her down.
From Los Angeles Times • May 29, 2024
Though much attention is given to purebred and designer dogs, more than half of all dogs living in the United States are mixed breeds: the all-American mutt, celebrated on National Mutt Day on December 2.
From National Geographic • Dec. 1, 2023
The Palm Dog awards have honoured the top dogs on screen since 2001, with categories added this year including Mutt Moment and Highly Commended Canine.
From Reuters • May 26, 2023
And that movie's presumed plan to hand the baton to Indy's rediscovered son, Shia LaBoeuf's Mutt, appears to have been wisely abandoned.
From BBC • Dec. 24, 2022
Doubletree Mutt came sideways and embarrassed up through the vegetable patch, and Jody, remembering how he had thrown the clod, put his arm about the dog’s neck and kissed him on his wide black nose.
From "The Red Pony" by John Steinbeck
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.
