bird-dog

1 of 2

verb

ˈbərd-ˌdȯg 

bird-dogged; bird-dogging; bird-dogs

intransitive verb

: to watch closely

transitive verb

: to seek out : follow, detect

bird dog

2 of 2

noun

1

: a gundog trained to hunt or retrieve birds

2

a

: one (such as a canvasser or talent scout) who seeks out something for another

b

: one who steals another's date

Synonyms

Verb

• chase
• course
• dog
• follow
• hound
• pursue
• run
• shadow
• tag
• tail
• trace
• track
• trail

Examples of bird-dog in a Sentence

Verb

suspecting infidelity, he hired a private detective to bird-dog his wife

Word History

First Known Use

Verb

1943, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense

Noun

1837, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Podcast

Get Word of the Day delivered to your inbox!

Kids Definition

bird dog

noun

: a dog that has been trained to hunt or bring back game birds