"dog eat dog" meaning in English

See dog eat dog in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Adjective

IPA: /dɒɡ iːt dɒɡ/ [UK], /dɔɡ it dɔɡ/ [US]
Etymology: From dog + eat + dog. From Latin, from “canis caninam non est" ("a dog does not eat the flesh of a dog"). Head templates: {{en-adj|-}} dog eat dog (not comparable)
  1. Ruthlessly acquisitive or competitive. Describes a business or other set of circumstances where people try to succeed at the expense of other people. Tags: not-comparable Synonyms: every man for himself, kill or be killed, dog-eat-dog Related terms: zero-sum Translations (harsh and ruthless): قَانُون الغَابَة (qānūn al-ḡāba) (Arabic), безскрупулен (bezskrupulen) (Bulgarian), 狗咬狗 (gǒuyǎogǒu) (Chinese Mandarin), podle zákona džungle (Czech), häikäilemätön (Finnish), säälimätön (Finnish), ankara (Finnish), armoton (Finnish), karu (Finnish), loi de la jungle [feminine] (French), κλέψας του κλέψαντος (klépsas tou klépsantos) (Greek), farkastörvény (Hungarian), canis canem edit (Latin)

Alternative forms

Download JSONL data for dog eat dog meaning in English (5.6kB)

{
  "etymology_text": "From dog + eat + dog.\nFrom Latin, from “canis caninam non est\" (\"a dog does not eat the flesh of a dog\").",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "dog eat dog (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
          "parents": [
            "Entries with incorrect language header",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
          "parents": [
            "Terms with redundant transliterations",
            "Entry maintenance"
          ],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Arabic translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Czech translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Finnish translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with French translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Greek translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Hungarian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Japanese translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Latin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Mandarin translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "Terms with Russian translations",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
        }
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "In this company it's dog eat dog. If you don't do better than the rest, you're on the street in next to no time."
        },
        {
          "ref": "1739, The Genuine History of the Life of Richard Turpin, page 15",
          "text": "[…] Turpin swore, if he did not deliver immediately he would shoot him through the Head, upon which King fell a Laughing, and said, What! Dog eat Dog?",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1795, Mark Moore, The Memoirs and Adventures of Mark Moore, Late an Officer in the British Navy",
          "text": "By mutual agreement of the French Captain and ours, and by consent of the officers, considering, as the Captain said, privateers fighting was dog eat dog, and nothing to be got but hard blows and rags […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1825 December 10, “To My True Disciples”, in Cobbett's Political Register, page 661",
          "text": "He has acted upon the principle of dog eat dog; and has fallen upon his own-brethren of the broad sheet, saying worse of them almost than I ever did; but still not half so bad as they \"deserve.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1851 April, The Knickerbocker; Or, New-York Monthly Magazine",
          "text": "In that event, as clear as fog, / You'll know what's meant by dog eat dog!",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1889, William Dena Howells, A Hazard of New Fortunes, page 266",
          "text": "As for the game I came on them, it was dog eat dog, anyway.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007 November 11, Zoe Wood, “Tesco has a flutter in Vegas”, in Guardian Unlimited",
          "text": "It is dog eat dog on Las Vegas's world-famous Strip as casino complexes such as MGM Grand and New York New York compete for attention with outlandish gestures like rollercoaster rides and a replica of the Manhattan skyline.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Ruthlessly acquisitive or competitive. Describes a business or other set of circumstances where people try to succeed at the expense of other people."
      ],
      "id": "en-dog_eat_dog-en-adj-iJLbF4eb",
      "links": [
        [
          "Ruthlessly",
          "ruthless"
        ],
        [
          "succeed",
          "succeed"
        ]
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "zero-sum"
        }
      ],
      "synonyms": [
        {
          "word": "every man for himself"
        },
        {
          "word": "kill or be killed"
        },
        {
          "word": "dog-eat-dog"
        }
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ],
      "translations": [
        {
          "code": "ar",
          "lang": "Arabic",
          "roman": "qānūn al-ḡāba",
          "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
          "word": "قَانُون الغَابَة"
        },
        {
          "code": "bg",
          "lang": "Bulgarian",
          "roman": "bezskrupulen",
          "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
          "word": "безскрупулен"
        },
        {
          "code": "cmn",
          "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
          "roman": "gǒuyǎogǒu",
          "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
          "word": "狗咬狗"
        },
        {
          "code": "cs",
          "lang": "Czech",
          "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
          "word": "podle zákona džungle"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
          "word": "häikäilemätön"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
          "word": "säälimätön"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
          "word": "ankara"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
          "word": "armoton"
        },
        {
          "code": "fi",
          "lang": "Finnish",
          "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
          "word": "karu"
        },
        {
          "code": "fr",
          "lang": "French",
          "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
          "tags": [
            "feminine"
          ],
          "word": "loi de la jungle"
        },
        {
          "code": "el",
          "lang": "Greek",
          "roman": "klépsas tou klépsantos",
          "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
          "word": "κλέψας του κλέψαντος"
        },
        {
          "code": "hu",
          "lang": "Hungarian",
          "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
          "word": "farkastörvény"
        },
        {
          "code": "ja",
          "lang": "Japanese",
          "note": "食うか食われるか (kuuka kuwareruka) - literal translation: Eat or be eaten.",
          "sense": "harsh and ruthless"
        },
        {
          "code": "la",
          "lang": "Latin",
          "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
          "word": "canis canem edit"
        },
        {
          "code": "ru",
          "lang": "Russian",
          "note": "зако́н джунглей m (zakón džunglej) - literal translation: The law of jungle.",
          "sense": "harsh and ruthless"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/dɒɡ iːt dɒɡ/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/dɔɡ it dɔɡ/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "dog eat dog"
}
{
  "etymology_text": "From dog + eat + dog.\nFrom Latin, from “canis caninam non est\" (\"a dog does not eat the flesh of a dog\").",
  "head_templates": [
    {
      "args": {
        "1": "-"
      },
      "expansion": "dog eat dog (not comparable)",
      "name": "en-adj"
    }
  ],
  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "adj",
  "related": [
    {
      "word": "zero-sum"
    }
  ],
  "senses": [
    {
      "categories": [
        "English adjectives",
        "English entries with incorrect language header",
        "English lemmas",
        "English multiword terms",
        "English terms with IPA pronunciation",
        "English terms with quotations",
        "English uncomparable adjectives",
        "Mandarin terms with redundant transliterations",
        "Terms with Arabic translations",
        "Terms with Bulgarian translations",
        "Terms with Czech translations",
        "Terms with Finnish translations",
        "Terms with French translations",
        "Terms with Greek translations",
        "Terms with Hungarian translations",
        "Terms with Japanese translations",
        "Terms with Latin translations",
        "Terms with Mandarin translations",
        "Terms with Russian translations"
      ],
      "examples": [
        {
          "text": "In this company it's dog eat dog. If you don't do better than the rest, you're on the street in next to no time."
        },
        {
          "ref": "1739, The Genuine History of the Life of Richard Turpin, page 15",
          "text": "[…] Turpin swore, if he did not deliver immediately he would shoot him through the Head, upon which King fell a Laughing, and said, What! Dog eat Dog?",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1795, Mark Moore, The Memoirs and Adventures of Mark Moore, Late an Officer in the British Navy",
          "text": "By mutual agreement of the French Captain and ours, and by consent of the officers, considering, as the Captain said, privateers fighting was dog eat dog, and nothing to be got but hard blows and rags […]",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1825 December 10, “To My True Disciples”, in Cobbett's Political Register, page 661",
          "text": "He has acted upon the principle of dog eat dog; and has fallen upon his own-brethren of the broad sheet, saying worse of them almost than I ever did; but still not half so bad as they \"deserve.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1851 April, The Knickerbocker; Or, New-York Monthly Magazine",
          "text": "In that event, as clear as fog, / You'll know what's meant by dog eat dog!",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "1889, William Dena Howells, A Hazard of New Fortunes, page 266",
          "text": "As for the game I came on them, it was dog eat dog, anyway.",
          "type": "quotation"
        },
        {
          "ref": "2007 November 11, Zoe Wood, “Tesco has a flutter in Vegas”, in Guardian Unlimited",
          "text": "It is dog eat dog on Las Vegas's world-famous Strip as casino complexes such as MGM Grand and New York New York compete for attention with outlandish gestures like rollercoaster rides and a replica of the Manhattan skyline.",
          "type": "quotation"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Ruthlessly acquisitive or competitive. Describes a business or other set of circumstances where people try to succeed at the expense of other people."
      ],
      "links": [
        [
          "Ruthlessly",
          "ruthless"
        ],
        [
          "succeed",
          "succeed"
        ]
      ],
      "tags": [
        "not-comparable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "sounds": [
    {
      "ipa": "/dɒɡ iːt dɒɡ/",
      "tags": [
        "UK"
      ]
    },
    {
      "ipa": "/dɔɡ it dɔɡ/",
      "tags": [
        "US"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "synonyms": [
    {
      "word": "every man for himself"
    },
    {
      "word": "kill or be killed"
    },
    {
      "word": "dog-eat-dog"
    }
  ],
  "translations": [
    {
      "code": "ar",
      "lang": "Arabic",
      "roman": "qānūn al-ḡāba",
      "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
      "word": "قَانُون الغَابَة"
    },
    {
      "code": "bg",
      "lang": "Bulgarian",
      "roman": "bezskrupulen",
      "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
      "word": "безскрупулен"
    },
    {
      "code": "cmn",
      "lang": "Chinese Mandarin",
      "roman": "gǒuyǎogǒu",
      "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
      "word": "狗咬狗"
    },
    {
      "code": "cs",
      "lang": "Czech",
      "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
      "word": "podle zákona džungle"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
      "word": "häikäilemätön"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
      "word": "säälimätön"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
      "word": "ankara"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
      "word": "armoton"
    },
    {
      "code": "fi",
      "lang": "Finnish",
      "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
      "word": "karu"
    },
    {
      "code": "fr",
      "lang": "French",
      "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
      "tags": [
        "feminine"
      ],
      "word": "loi de la jungle"
    },
    {
      "code": "el",
      "lang": "Greek",
      "roman": "klépsas tou klépsantos",
      "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
      "word": "κλέψας του κλέψαντος"
    },
    {
      "code": "hu",
      "lang": "Hungarian",
      "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
      "word": "farkastörvény"
    },
    {
      "code": "ja",
      "lang": "Japanese",
      "note": "食うか食われるか (kuuka kuwareruka) - literal translation: Eat or be eaten.",
      "sense": "harsh and ruthless"
    },
    {
      "code": "la",
      "lang": "Latin",
      "sense": "harsh and ruthless",
      "word": "canis canem edit"
    },
    {
      "code": "ru",
      "lang": "Russian",
      "note": "зако́н джунглей m (zakón džunglej) - literal translation: The law of jungle.",
      "sense": "harsh and ruthless"
    }
  ],
  "word": "dog eat dog"
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2024-06-27 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2024-06-20 using wiktextract (0f7b3ac and b863ecc). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

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