dog catcher
5
3.2
- noun
- /dɔg ˈkæʧər/
- US
:
capturador de perros
- In our town, the dog catcher is responsible for ensuring stray animals are safely captured and cared for.
- call the dog catcher
- elected dog catcher
- get elected dog catcher
Examples
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I saw the dog catcher taking photos of the stray dogs to help find them new homes.
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If the dog catchers got your dog, there's nothing I can do about it.
-
The dog catcher's in there.
-
No one who accepted them could have been elected dog catcher in any free state.
Academic text (2008) -
I remember reading that people were willing to vote for the dog catcher.
Blog text (24) -
I believe some people are born to be chorus girls and dog catchers.
-
But I always want my elected officials, even my local dog catcher, to know I'm paying attention.
Blog text (28) -
They might be lucky to find work as a dog catcher or street sweeper.
Blog text (25) -
My grandpa was a flight medic in WWII, left the service, and started as a dog catcher in South City, San Francisco.
Blog text (31) -
The dog catcher arrived quickly to rescue the stray dog from the busy street.
Synonyms
2
4.2
A person who catches stray or dangerous dogs for the city
Surface Forms
Morphology
dog + catcher
The meaning 'a person who catches dogs' is directly and compositionally derived from 'dog' (animal) + 'catcher' (agent who catches), following a common noun+agent compounding pattern in English. Even if 'catcher' is not listed here, a B1 learner who knows 'catch' and the agentive '-er' will readily infer the occupational sense, so the expression is transparent.
Etymology
Dog catcher comes from the clear picture of a person whose job was to catch loose dogs in the streets and bring them to the dog pound. So, dog catcher literally puts dog and catcher together and means 'a person hired by a town to capture and hold stray dogs'.