puppy dog
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of puppy dog
First recorded in 1585–95
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.
“It just makes things more palatable to me to think of the duality of life through the eyes of a little puppy dog or ladybug.”
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 3, 2025
And he believes he can construct a championship team here, one that presumably will reside next door to his mansions built on pipe dreams and puppy dog kisses.
From Washington Post • Jul. 1, 2022
Born Nils Gronberg, Einar had the face of a puppy dog, the flow of an international rap connoisseur and the chest-puffed lyrics of a hardened gang member.
From New York Times • Jan. 7, 2022
She can be vulnerable one minute, flashing puppy dog eyes that beg for compassion, and obdurate the next, asserting her independence with a fierce determination that shows her mettle.
From Salon • Dec. 17, 2021
“You ever want to leave there, I have a job for you here. I will treat you with dignity, like a witch and not just a puppy dog to follow me around.”
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
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.
