Pekingese

noun

Pe·​king·​ese ˌpē-kə-ˈnēz  -ˈnēs 

-kiŋ-ˈēz,

-ˈēs

variants or Pekinese

plural Pekingese or Pekinese

1

a

: the Chinese dialect of Beijing

b

: a native or resident of Beijing

2

: any of a Chinese breed of small short-legged dogs with a broad flat face and a profuse long soft coat

Illustration of Pekingese

• Pekingese 2

Examples of Pekingese in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

There’s no crying in football… except for Smoosh Smoosh, the Puppy Bowl’s first-ever Pekingese, provides one of the true emotional moments. —Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 10 Feb. 2025

Smoosh: the first Pekingese to take the Puppy Bowl field. —Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 8 Feb. 2025

At one point, a sleepy Pekingese took notice of Alice’s baby doll. —Chloe Malle, Vogue, 28 Jan. 2025

Among the contestants on Team Fluff is Smoosh, the only Pekingese to compete in the games. —Saman Shafiq, USA TODAY, 18 Jan. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1849, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

Pekingese

noun

Pe·​king·​ese

variants or Pekinese

ˌpē-kən-ˈēz  -kiŋ- 

-ˈēs

plural Pekingese or Pekinese

1

a

: the Chinese dialect of Peking

b

: a person born or living in Peking

2

: any of a Chinese breed of small short-legged dogs with a broad flat face and a long soft coat