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
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That summer, Jean Chambers, an artist whose Scottish terrier had befriended my dog in Riverside Park, was killed when a serially reckless driver, Roberto Mercado, mowed her down on West End Avenue at 95th Street.
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Justin Davidson, Curbed, 13 Nov. 2024
Avery Price doesn’t want to break the bank to take her two German terriers, Brave and Bashful, on vacation.
—Harriet Baskas, NBC News, 29 Sep. 2024
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
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Justin Davidson, Curbed, 13 Nov. 2024
Avery Price doesn’t want to break the bank to take her two German terriers, Brave and Bashful, on vacation.
—Harriet Baskas, NBC News, 29 Sep. 2024
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
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 28 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."
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