Dictionary

bulldog en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈbʊl.dɔɡ/ (General-American)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈbʊl.dɑɡ/ (cot-caught-merger)
• /ˈbʊl.dɒɡ/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From bull + dog, in reference to bullbaiting.

Meanings

1. A breed of dog developed in England by the crossing of the bullbaiting dog and the Pug to produce a ladies' companion dog, having a very smooth coat, a flattened face, wrinkly cheeks, powerful front legs, and smaller hind legs.
2. A breed of dog developed in England by the crossing of the bullbaiting dog and the Pug to produce a ladies' companion dog, having a very smooth coat, a flattened face, wrinkly cheeks, powerful front legs, and smaller hind legs. ▸ The original form of this breed, the English bulldog.
3. A stubborn or determined person.
   • His bulldog determination was destined to bring him the opportunity he was seeking.
   • We need a lawyer who will fight for our case, a real bulldog.
4. A refractory material used as a furnace lining, obtained by calcining the cinder or slag from the puddling furnace of a rolling mill.
5. (UK, qualifier:Oxford University slang) One of the proctors' officers.
   • […] and was confronted by a “bulldog,” a proctor's assistant in charge of discipline, who asked if he was a member of the university since he wasn't wearing a gown, and he was able to say that he wasn't, […] 2019, Thomas Merton, Patrick F. O'Connell, Medieval Cistercian History (page lxxiii)
6. Any move in which the wrestler grabs an opponent's head and jumps forward, so that the wrestler lands, often in a sitting position, and drives the opponent's face into the mat.
7. (US) A bulldog edition.
   • The bulldog's just gone to press. 1940, Citizen Kane (film)
8. Any of various species of African freshwater fish in the genus Marcusenius, a type of elephantfish.
9. (UK, capitalized, sometimes) The children's game of British Bulldog or Red Rover.
   • […] playing bulldog, that game where you have two teams, one team runs and the other one catches. You have to run from […] 2018, Avril Brock, Pam Jarvis, Yinka Olusoga, Perspectives on Play: Learning for Life:
   • […] playing bulldog on the plaza in front of the meeting hall. 2010 April 29, Bill Svelmoe, Spirits Eat Ripe Papaya, Wipf and Stock Publishers, →ISBN, page 138:
   • Once Tyson skidded on some wet leaves when he and his friends were playing Bulldog in the park. As he lay on the ground they all laughed at him, even Ajay, and although he'd twisted his ankle, what hurt most was his pride. 2018 June 14, Irvine Welsh, A.L. Kennedy, Meera Syal, John Niven, Pauline Melville, Daisy Buchanan, Christopher Brookmyre, Zoe Venditozzi, Nina Stibbe, Mike Gayle, Murray Lachlan Young, Barney Farmer, 24 Stories: of Hope for Survivors of the Grenfell Tower Fire, Random House, →ISBN:
   • "... playing bulldog in the yard so I know you're fit enough to fight. Have you decided when you're coming back?” 2008 08, Christ Kennedy, Two Sons Nelson, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 304:

Forms

Deriveds

make a rabbit bite a bulldog (Terms derived from bulldog (noun)) · like a bulldog with a bone (Terms derived from bulldog (noun)) · bulldog gravy (Terms derived from bulldog (noun)) · bulldog edition (Terms derived from bulldog (noun)) · bulldoggy (Terms derived from bulldog (noun)) · bulldog clip (Terms derived from bulldog (noun)) · bulldog bat (Terms derived from bulldog (noun)) · British bulldog (Terms derived from bulldog (noun)) · bulldoggish (Terms derived from bulldog (noun)) · white English bulldog (Terms derived from bulldog (noun)) · beabull (Terms derived from bulldog (noun)) · bulldog scalp (Terms derived from bulldog (noun)) · Darwin's bulldog (Terms derived from bulldog (noun)) · bulldogger (Terms derived from bulldog (noun)) · Dutch bulldog (Terms derived from bulldog (noun)) · bulldog rat (Terms derived from bulldog (noun))

Descendants

Bulldogge · buldogue · bouledogue

Relateds

bull-pup · bull-bitch

Synonyms

English bulldog (breed of dog) · British bulldog

Translations (38)

nl buldog (breed of dog) · fi bulldoggi (breed of dog) · cmn 牛頭犬 /牛头犬 (breed of dog) · es dogo (breed of dog) · sh samsov (breed of dog) · sh самсов (breed of dog) · fr bouledogue (breed of dog) · sh булдог (breed of dog) · vo toradoeg (breed of dog) · ms anjing bulldog (breed of dog) · ar بلدغ (breed of dog) · sv bulldogg (breed of dog) · it bulldog (breed of dog) · de Bulldogge (breed of dog) · cs buldok (breed of dog) · yi בולדאָג (breed of dog) · el μπουλντόγκ (breed of dog) · bg булдо́г (breed of dog) · es bulldog (breed of dog) · mt buldog (breed of dog) · lt buldogas (breed of dog) · pt bulldog (breed of dog) · io buldogo (breed of dog) · sh buldog (breed of dog) · ja ブルドッグ (breed of dog) · ko 불도그 (breed of dog) · cmn 鬥牛犬 /斗牛犬 (breed of dog) · pt buldogue (breed of dog) · mk булдог (breed of dog) · la molossus (breed of dog) · tl buldog (breed of dog) · ru бульдо́г (breed of dog) · eo buldogo (breed of dog) · he בולדוג (breed of dog) · es buldog (breed of dog) · pl buldog (breed of dog) · sl buldog (breed of dog) · hu buldog (breed of dog)

bulldog en · VERB

Pronunciation

• /ˈbʊl.dɔɡ/ (General-American)
• (Southern-England) audio
• /ˈbʊl.dɑɡ/ (cot-caught-merger)
• /ˈbʊl.dɒɡ/ (Received-Pronunciation)

Etymology

From bull + dog, in reference to bullbaiting.

Meanings

1. (intransitive, often, with into or through) To force oneself (in a particular direction).
   • So to give you some idea, we had scenarios where Yamato came steaming over the horizon and just bulldogged its way straight through the American battleline, and the whole thing was done and dusted inside of an hour, with 18-inch shells just blowing apart anything in sight. 2019 March 6, Drachinifel, 14:01 from the start, in The Battle of Samar (Alternate History) - Bring on the Battleships!, archived from the original on 20 Jul 2022:
2. (transitive) To chase (a steer) on horseback and wrestle it to the ground by twisting its horns (as a rodeo performance).

Forms

Synonyms

bull