pit bull

American  

[pit bool] / ˈpɪt ˌbʊl /

Informal, pittie or pitbull

noun

1. a stocky, muscular dog with a broad skull and a smooth coat, belonging to an informal category of purebred and mixed-breed dogs that includes the American Staffordshire terrier, the Staffordshire bull terrier, and sometimes the American bulldog or boxer.

2. Also called American pit bull terrier.  American Staffordshire terrier.

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Etymology

Origin of pit bull

First recorded in 1925–30; pit ¹ ( def. ) (in the sense “enclosure for staging animal fights”) + bull(dog) ( def. )

Example Sentences

Then there was the time her pit bull terrier, Thor, barked at a cat outside, jolting the feline skyward.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 5, 2026

When I lived in downtown Phoenix, my pit bull Ziggy once escaped through the fence and disappeared, causing my wife to burst into tears.

From Salon • Feb. 20, 2026

I love being wherever Maybelle, my gentle, white pit bull, is resting.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 4, 2025

The 1991 Act had already banned the ownership of four breeds - the pit bull terrier, the Japanese tosa, dogo argentino and fila brasileiro.

From BBC • Oct. 7, 2025

She groaned, then suggested I buy a Rottweiler or a pit bull or some huge dog that looked like the wolf that ate the Grandma in Little Red Riding-Hood.

From "Joey Pigza Swallowed the Key" by Jack Gantos