WORKING DOG

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does working dog mean? 

• WORKING DOG (noun)
  The noun WORKING DOG has 1 sense:

1. any of several breeds of usually large powerful dogs bred to work as draft animals and guard and guide dogs

  Familiarity information: WORKING DOG used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• WORKING DOG (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

Any of several breeds of usually large powerful dogs bred to work as draft animals and guard and guide dogs

Classified under:

Nouns denoting animals

Hypernyms ("working dog" is a kind of...):

Canis familiaris; dog; domestic dog (a member of the genus Canis (probably descended from the common wolf) that has been domesticated by man since prehistoric times; occurs in many breeds)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "working dog"):

guard dog; watchdog (a dog trained to guard property)

sheep dog; sheepdog; shepherd dog (any of various usually long-haired breeds of dog reared to herd and guard sheep)

police dog (any dog trained to assist police especially in tracking)

Sennenhunde (any of four Swiss breeds)

boxer (a breed of stocky medium-sized short-haired dog with a brindled coat and square-jawed muzzle developed in Germany)

mastiff (an old breed of powerful deep-chested smooth-coated dog used chiefly as a watchdog and guard dog)

bull mastiff (large powerful breed developed by crossing the bulldog and the mastiff)

bulldog; English bulldog (a sturdy thickset short-haired breed with a large head and strong undershot lower jaw; developed originally in England for bull baiting)

Great Dane (very large powerful smooth-coated breed of dog)

guide dog (a dog trained to guide the blind)

hearing dog (dog trained to assist the deaf by signaling the occurrence of certain sounds)

Saint Bernard; St Bernard (a Swiss alpine breed of large powerful dog with a thick coat of hair used as a rescue dog)

seizure-alert dog (a dog that can alert or assist people with seizure disorders)

sled dog; sledge dog (a dog trained to draw a sled usually in a team)

Eskimo dog; husky (breed of heavy-coated Arctic sled dog)

 Context examples 

The Australian Cattle Dog is a sturdy, compact, well-muscled and powerful working dog.

(Australian Cattle Dog, NCI Thesaurus)