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dog-eared

dog-eared

4 4.4
A book or page with a corner folded down from use
  • adjective
  • /ˈdɔɡˌɪrd/
translation icon : doblado
  • The dog-eared pages of the library's copy of the textbook show how often it has been used.
  • a dog-eared copy
  • dog-eared pages
  • dog-eared book

Examples

  • But I still to this day carry with me dog eared copies of his books, of his essays.

  • Jack pulls out his old dog-eared dime novel and hands it to Les.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • The only dog-eared page in the Book.

  • Or did you run straight to the dog-eared pages?

  • Inside, he finds a small dog-eared drawing book.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • Now, whenever I encounter a dog-eared page, I smooth its wounded edge.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • Ronald drops a dog-eared copy of that 1972 LIFE magazine with Brian on the cover on the table.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • I love picking up a book and flipping through dog-eared pages or discovering a book by accident.

    Blog text (13)
  • The pages were dog-eared from use and heavily annotated with scribbles in the margins and highlighting markers.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • I discovered a dog-eared copy of Philip Caputo's memoir A Rumor of War (1977).

    Academic text (2003)

Synonyms

worn-out
vsdog-eared
20 3.1

An object too old or damaged from heavy use to be useful

means usable but shabby with folded corners rather than unusable
flea-bitten
vsdog-eared
  • Archaic
2 7.8

Old and in bad condition from use and poor care

comes from regular use and folded corners rather than neglect
eared
vsdog-eared
  • Archaic
2 8.7

With corners bent or turned down from use

is the general shabby look from frequent use rather than only corners
moth-eaten
vsdog-eared
1 4.8

Old clothing or fabric with small holes made by moths

suggests wear from handling and folded corners rather than pest damage
thumbed
vsdog-eared
4.8

Pages worn and dirty from being often turned by fingers

shows wear from folded corners rather than primarily finger marks
raddled
vsdog-eared
  • UK
9.9

Worn and in bad condition from long use

is less severe and centers on folded corners not heavy damage
outworn
vsdog-eared
5.2

An object that has been used a lot and is now damaged or not useful

refers to lighter shabby condition caused by frequent corner folding

Antonyms

new
1.0

In original condition and never used before

63 5.1

Very clean and fresh, like new

How Worn

tattered
4 4.1
worn
4 2.1
dog-eared
4 4.4
used
1.0

Surface Forms

dog-eared positive

Morphology

dog-eared = dog-ear (transparent) = dog + ear + ed

Formed by adding -ed to the compound noun 'dog-ear' (a folded page corner), so the adjectival meaning 'having dog-ears' is directly derived.

Etymology

Dog-eared comes from the simple image of a page corner folded down so it looks like a dog's ear. So, a dog-eared book has its page corners turned down and looks worn from a lot of use.