mutt
Americannoun
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mutts
plural
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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
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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.
See Examples For:
Adrian Aceves, a physician living in downtown Washington, said he'd be staying in with his five-year-old mutt Rosy, "trying to distract her with treats and toys, and I will medicate her."
From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026
Paul Conyngham's months-long quest to fight his rescue mutt Rosie's cancer has grabbed the attention of OpenAI boss Sam Altman, who called it an "amazing story" in an X post on Friday.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
A mutt owned by Ed Koch’s chef also hung out at the residence.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 2, 2026
There’s a look in his eye like a hungry mutt staring at a butcher shop window: pathetic and moony and flummoxed by how to get what he wants.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2025
Mike didn’t want to be seen walking a mutt in New York City’s Central Park.
From "Dog Squad" by Chris Grabenstein
The test results said one of the dogs share the same amount of DNA as people do with their full siblings – and that they’re mutts.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 9, 2025
Two days after being rescued, the 6-month-old mutts — one tiger-striped, the other jet black — mostly dozed on donated blankets amid chew toys, still drained from their ordeal.
From New York Times ● May 30, 2024
Miles is an All-American dog, the American Kennel Club’s name for mutts.
From Seattle Times ● May 12, 2024
Of the nearly 3.3 million dogs that enter U.S. animal shelters every year, many are mutts.
From National Geographic ● Dec. 1, 2023
“They stayed at the Grinder to hold the mutts back,” says Homes.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
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.
