Rhodesian ridgeback

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noun

one of a South African breed of medium-sized muscular hunting dogs having a short, glossy, red or tan coat, with a characteristic ridge of hair along the spine consisting of parallel crowns of hair growing in the opposite direction of the rest of the coat, originally developed for hunting lions but now used primarily as a guard dog.

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Also called African lion hound.

Origin of Rhodesian ridgeback

First recorded in 1935–40

Words nearby Rhodesian ridgeback

Rhodes grass, Rhodesia, Rhodesian, Rhodesian Front, Rhodesian man, Rhodesian ridgeback, Rhodesian trypanosomiasis, Rhodesoid, Rhodes scholarship, Rhodian, rhodic

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use Rhodesian ridgeback in a sentence

At the head of this five-mile convoy was Ivan Smith, a 22-year-old Rhodesian.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis|Nina Strochlic|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
A spring break road trip with your Rhodesian Ridgeback riding shotgun, as David Jefferson recently learned.
My Travels with Samantha|David Jefferson|April 17, 2012|DAILY BEAST
A white South African couple buries a Rhodesian illegal immigrant who dies on their property.
This Week's Hot Reads|The Daily Beast|November 29, 2010|DAILY BEAST
With Rhodes' death the whole system of Rhodesian politics perished.
Cecil Rhodes|Princess Catherine Radziwill

The Rhodesian party, deprived of its chief, was entirely harmless.
Cecil Rhodes|Princess Catherine Radziwill
Khama's firm stand in his own territory may have been an influence in keeping Rhodesian natives from securing imported liquor.
South and South Central Africa|H. Frances Davidson
Importers of stock intended for breeding purposes can carry them over the Rhodesian railways at considerably reduced rates.
South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 8 (of 8)|Various
Here is a story that exemplifies the tenacity, under disaster, of the Rhodesian settler.
South Africa and the Transvaal War, Vol. 8 (of 8)|Various

British Dictionary definitions for Rhodesian ridgeback

Rhodesian ridgeback

/ (ˈrɪdʒˌbæk) /

noun

a large short-haired breed of dog characterized by a ridge of hair growing along the back in the opposite direction to the rest of the coat. It was originally a hunting dog from South Africa

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012