Skip to main content
Border collie

Border collie

5 3.0
A smart dog used to herd sheep that often has black and white fur
  • noun
  • /ˈbɔrdər ˈkɑli/
translation icon : collie de la frontera
  • On the farm, the border collie expertly herded the sheep into the pen.
  • a handsome Border collie
  • Border collie mix
  • Border collies can herd sheep

She's a Britney's mountain dog, Beagle and border collie mix.

Examples

  • I put down my beloved border collie, Vamp, earlier this year.

    Blog text (24)
  • The first to greet me as I stepped through the door was the shop mascot, a friendly border collie puppy named Lucy, who came strolling up for some attention.

    Blog text (9)
  • You got a beautiful border collie right there.

  • "A border collie," I say.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • A few years ago, um, a border collie that I was handling was stolen.

  • I guess Border collies are not known for their sense of humor.

    Blog text (8)
  • The most famous Australian red border collie is "Murray" from the TV series "Mad About You."

    Blog text (27)
  • Any time he fired it up, the border collie would be driven insane and run around barking at full speed.

    Blog text (24)
  • My border collie always urinates in the house when left in the house with my older dogs.

    Blog text (29)
  • I've got a border collie; he's so lively—almost like he's on speed—all the time!

    Blog text (10)

Synonyms

collie
vsBorder collie
19 2.0

A dog with long, silky fur and a narrow head that herds sheep

is focused on high herding skill and typical black and white colouring
sheepdog
vsBorder collie
13 2.1

A dog trained to move and protect sheep on a farm

is a specific breed known for high intelligence and black and white coat

How Big

Great Dane
9 2.6
mastiff
7 4.1
Briard
1 8.1
Border collie
5 3.0
beagle
23 1.3
Chihuahua
11 3.3

Surface Forms

Border collie singular

Morphology

border + collie

The compound meaning is directly built from its parts: 'collie' names a herding dog and 'border' indicates origin or association with a boundary area, so a learner who knows both words can infer it is a type of collie from the border region, likely a herding breed. This compositional pattern for breed/place names is common across languages and follows regular noun + noun formation, making it immediately comprehensible to B1 learners.

Etymology

Border collie comes from dogs bred along the border between Scotland and England. The word collie was a common name for a 'sheepdog', so the name shows a sheepdog from the border and that's why it means a very clever dog used for 'herding'.