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
Recent Examples on the Web
While searching for her first dog, Joelle Andres saw a photo of a scrappy-looking rat terrier on a pet adoption site and was immediately drawn to his face.
—
Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025
It was bred from the American pit bull terrier and several bulldog breeds—including the English bulldog and American bulldog—to create a strong, stocky dog with a gentler temperament than traditional pit bulls.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
Probably some kind of terrier or something.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 22 Sep. 2025
That was the case for Oakley, an American Staffordshire terrier in Aurora, Illinois, who decided escaping the flames could wait until proper protocol was followed.
—Ronnie Li, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for terrier
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Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 8 Oct. 2025
It was bred from the American pit bull terrier and several bulldog breeds—including the English bulldog and American bulldog—to create a strong, stocky dog with a gentler temperament than traditional pit bulls.
—Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 7 Oct. 2025
Probably some kind of terrier or something.
—Bill Goodykoontz, AZCentral.com, 22 Sep. 2025
That was the case for Oakley, an American Staffordshire terrier in Aurora, Illinois, who decided escaping the flames could wait until proper protocol was followed.
—Ronnie Li, USA Today, 18 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for terrier
Cite this Entry
“Terrier.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/terrier. Accessed 17 Oct. 2025.
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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