wild dog
22
3.4
- noun
- /waɪld dɔɡ/
:
perro salvaje
- Although many people think of these wild dogs as savanna dwellers, they actually fare much better in wooded habitats.
- wild dogs and lions
- hyenas and wild dogs
- African wild dogs
And as we passed the dump, there was a pack of wild dogs digging up the body.
- And as we passed the dump, there was a pack of wild dogs digging up the body.
- We had to ice the horse so that wild dogs didn't come.
- Another guy said that on The History Channel that a pack of wild dogs with those fiery eyes has been seen on the island and they protect the pit.
Examples
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In the savanna, packs of wild dogs work together to hunt for food.
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At first, she thinks it must be coyotes or wild dogs.
Fiction book (1993) -
- They were like a pack of wild dogs.
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- Is that a wild dog?
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We might as well just be a pack of wild dogs.
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The islands were named for the wild dogs that are found there.
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Some wild dogs attacked them.
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Wild dogs are my responsibility.
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Several packs of African wild dogs again roam the Serengeti.
Academic text (2009) -
Along with lions, hyenas, and wild dogs, elephants are among the well-known savanna mammals that raise their young cooperatively.
Academic text (2009)
Surface Forms
Morphology
wild + dog
The meaning 'a dog that is not domesticated' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'wild' (not tamed) with 'dog' (a domestic canine). This straightforward adjective + noun composition follows common cross-linguistic patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both words would readily infer the MWE's meaning even if the input lacked the dictionary definition for 'dog'.
Etymology
The noun wild dog comes from the simple image of a dog living in the wild, not kept by people. Because these animals look like ordinary dogs but are 'not tame' and live and hunt on their own, we call them wild dogs today.