Illustration of terrier
: any of various usually small energetic dogs originally used by hunters to dig for small game and engage the quarry underground or drive it out
Examples of terrier in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
An American Staffordshire and bulldog/terrier mix, walked by Dylan Mulaney, ended up taking the first place ribbon.
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Kristen Tauer, WWD, 7 Sep. 2024
Courage, a 9-year-old, 25-pound rat terrier, can sit in a chair at the table while his family eats dinner, being polite enough to eat only what's offered to him.
—Kimberly Dishongh, arkansasonline.com, 30 June 2024
Jackie Boy Jackie Boy is a 1-year-old Australian cattle dog and terrier mix brought to the shelter on Feb. 13.
—Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 30 Apr. 2024
And there were several in attendance at the Humane Society event including: Cooper, a 10-year-old terrier mix; Buster, an 8-year-old Labrador retriever; and Oliver, a 4-year-old basset hound.
—Ryan MacAsero, The Mercury News, 26 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for terrier 
Kristen Tauer, WWD, 7 Sep. 2024
Courage, a 9-year-old, 25-pound rat terrier, can sit in a chair at the table while his family eats dinner, being polite enough to eat only what's offered to him.
—Kimberly Dishongh, arkansasonline.com, 30 June 2024
Jackie Boy Jackie Boy is a 1-year-old Australian cattle dog and terrier mix brought to the shelter on Feb. 13.
—Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 30 Apr. 2024
And there were several in attendance at the Humane Society event including: Cooper, a 10-year-old terrier mix; Buster, an 8-year-old Labrador retriever; and Oliver, a 4-year-old basset hound.
—Ryan MacAsero, The Mercury News, 26 July 2024
See all Example Sentences for terrier
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'terrier.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Terrier.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terrier. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
terrier
noun
ter·ri·er
ˈter-ē-ər 
: any of various usually small energetic dogs originally used by hunters to drive game animals from their holes
Etymology
Middle English terryer "a small dog used for hunting burrowing animals," from early French (chen) terrer, literally "earth dog," from terre "earth," derived from Latin terra (same meaning)
Word Origin
Today most terriers are kept as pets. However, there was a time when the dogs were widely used for hunting. Terriers are usually small dogs with short legs, and they were used to dig game animals such as foxes, badgers, and weasels out of their holes. The dogs were also trained to go into a hole after a game animal and drive it out. The French name for these dogs was chen terrer, meaning "earth dog." English borrowed only the word terrier, which can be traced back to Latin terra, meaning "earth."
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