Dictionary

K9 en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• (Australia) audio
• /ˈkeɪˌnaɪn/ (General-American)
• /ˈkeɪnaɪn/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

Pseudo-acronym of canine, by phonetic similarity of the letter and number names with the two syllables of canine.

Meanings

1. A trained police dog.
   • The Saitama Prefectural Police Department, for example, had no K9 units of its own, and relied on contract dogs exclusively. 2006, Asa Nonami, Juliet Winters Carpenter, The Hunter: A Detective Takako Otomichi Mystery, page 134:
   • Apollo, part of the New York Police Department K9 Search and Rescue team was on the scene of the disaster just 15 minutes after the disaster 2005, Priya Kapoor, Nandita Jaishankar, VIPs: Very Important Pets, page 71:
   • Police working dogs (K9s) often have extremely close bonds with their handlers. 2003, Nicholas H. Dodman, If Only They Could Speak: Stories About Pets and Their People, page 248:
   • Originally a K9 dog for the police department, Captain was asked to resign for unknown reasons. 2003, Trevor J. Orsinger, The Firefighter's Best Friend: Lives and Legends of Chicago Firehouse Dogs, page 90:

Forms