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Synonyms

sick as a dog

Idioms  

  1. Very ill, especially from a stomach malady. For example, I don't know what was in that stew but I was sick as a dog all night. This simile was first recorded in 1705. Why a dog should be viewed as particularly sick remains unclear.

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.

Scott: Keith woke up the day that people are coming in, Sunday morning, and he is sick as a dog.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

“You have your child who is sick as a dog, you have no hope, you find CBD hemp, non-impairing, non-intoxicating,” Goldstein said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 16, 2024

“Shelby just came in sick as a dog this morning,” Carroll said.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 11, 2022

He also would be as sick as a dog the next day.

From Slate • Jul. 1, 2013

I get as sick as a dog every time the wind rises, and the worst of it is I don’t never seem to improve.

From The Lighthouse by Ballantyne, R. M. (Robert Michael)

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.