Skip to main content
to walk a dog

to walk a dog

2 1.0
To take a dog outside for exercise, usually on a leash
  • phrasal verb
  • /wɔk ə dɔg/
translation icon : sacar a pasear un perro
  • Can you help me walk a dog during my lunch break?
  • a man walking a dog

I'm like, why is your confidence tied to what you look like when you are walking a dog?

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • On weekends, I love to walk a dog along the beach.

  • Her next customer was a man walking a dog.

    Fiction book (1999)
  • I just walked a dog.

  • Bruno, do you want to walk a dog with me after school?

  • The healthy way to walk a dog is to let the dog walk with you, not pulling you, not running erratically to smell things on the way, and not jumping on others.

    Blog text (29)
  • Neighborhood residents said the victims were out last night walking a dog when a tree was uprooted from the sidewalk and trapped the pair beneath its weight.

    Blog text (10)
  • Richard runs past an old man walking a dog, past a crowd of women with covered heads coming out of San Maria Formosa, past groupings of tourists laughing and waving guidebooks and cameras.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Every morning, I take a break to walk a dog in the park.

Synonyms

to walk
vsto walk a dog
172 1.0

To lead an animal on foot for exercise or control

is specific to taking a dog outdoors for exercise usually on a leash
stroll
vsto walk a dog
92 1.2

A slow easy walk taken for pleasure

is about exercising a dog outdoors on a leash not a slow leisurely outing
to walk the dog
vsto walk a dog
26 1.1

To take a dog outside on a leash for exercise

is identical in meaning but differs only in wording and article choice

Antonyms

256 3.8

Fail to care for someone or something you should look after

Surface Forms

walk a dog infinitive
walked a dog past participle
walking a dog present participle
walks a dog third person singular

Morphology

walk + a + dog

The meaning 'to take a dog outdoors for exercise' is directly and transparently derived from combining walk (to lead or exercise by walking) with dog (a domesticated canine); the indefinite article 'a' is semantically neutral. This verb+object composition is common across languages and follows standard English patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would readily understand it.

Etymology

Walk a dog comes from the simple picture of a person holding a leash and moving along with a dog. Because owners did this to give the dog exercise and keep it under control, the phrase now means 'to take a dog outside to exercise'.