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
The 88 dogs and litters of puppies, consisting of terriers and dachshunds, were surrendered by their owner to the Pima Animal Care Center after Tucson police called its Animal Protection Services team to take them in on Saturday night.
—
Miguel Torres, The Arizona Republic, 17 Sep. 2024
Even the Yorkshire terrier stays rooted to the ground.
—Anne Victoria Clark, Vulture, 18 July 2024
Two years ago, Alexis Sullivan woke on Christmas morning to find a gaping hole in her couch courtesy of her 10-year-old pitbull terrier, Jax.
—Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 9 July 2024
Coco Coco is a 1.5-year-old staffordshire terrier mix who enjoys hikes, car rides and fetch.
—Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 30 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for terrier 
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of
Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback
about these examples.
Miguel Torres, The Arizona Republic, 17 Sep. 2024
Even the Yorkshire terrier stays rooted to the ground.
—Anne Victoria Clark, Vulture, 18 July 2024
Two years ago, Alexis Sullivan woke on Christmas morning to find a gaping hole in her couch courtesy of her 10-year-old pitbull terrier, Jax.
—Jessica Guynn, USA TODAY, 9 July 2024
Coco Coco is a 1.5-year-old staffordshire terrier mix who enjoys hikes, car rides and fetch.
—Marina Johnson, The Courier-Journal, 30 Apr. 2024
See all Example Sentences for terrier
Dictionary Entries Near terrier
Cite this Entry
“Terrier.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terrier. Accessed 18 Nov. 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."
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share