prairie dog

American  

noun

prairie dogs plural

1. any of several burrowing rodents of the genus Cynomys, of North American prairies, having a barklike cry: some are endangered.

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prairie dog British  

noun

1. Also called: prairie marmot.  any of several gregarious sciurine rodents of the genus Cynomys, such as C. ludovicianus, that live in large complex burrows in the prairies of North America

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• prairie dogs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of prairie dog

An Americanism dating back to 1765–75

Compare meaning

How does prairie-dog compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• marmot vs. prairie dog

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

prairie dog

Its logo is a prairie dog in a black-and-yellow nuclear symbol.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 28, 2026

The prairie dog population would usually feed on the abundant grass that followed.

From Washington Post ● Jan. 14, 2023

On a recent clear night, the Nakoda sacred site Snake Butte looming on the horizon, Main shined a flashlight into a long, skinny, wire trap atop a prairie dog burrow.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 8, 2022

Starting with a 3-year-old Wisconsin girl bitten by her pet prairie dog, all 72 suspected or confirmed cases had contact with those animals.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2022

For me, it was this stuffed prairie dog that I got one Christmas when I was like three.

From "Will Grayson, Will Grayson" by John Green and David Levithan