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dog eat dog. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
dog eat dog, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
dog eat dog in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
dog eat dog you have here. The definition of the word
dog eat dog will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of
dog eat dog, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
English
Alternative forms
Etymology
From dog + eat + dog.
From Latin, from “canis caninam non est" ("a dog does not eat the flesh of a dog").
Pronunciation
Adjective
dog eat dog (not comparable)
- Ruthlessly acquisitive or competitive. Describes a business or other set of circumstances where people try to succeed at the expense of other people.
- In this company it's dog eat dog. If you don't do better than the rest, you're on the street in next to no time.
1739, The Genuine History of the Life of Richard Turpin, page 15:[…] Turpin swore, if he did not deliver immediately he would shoot him through the Head, upon which King fell a Laughing, and said, What! Dog eat Dog?
1795, Mark Moore, The Memoirs and Adventures of Mark Moore, Late an Officer in the British Navy:By mutual agreement of the French Captain and ours, and by consent of the officers, considering, as the Captain said, privateers fighting was dog eat dog, and nothing to be got but hard blows and rags […]
1825 December 10, “To My True Disciples”, in Cobbett's Political Register, page 661:He has acted upon the principle of dog eat dog; and has fallen upon his own-brethren of the broad sheet, saying worse of them almost than I ever did; but still not half so bad as they "deserve.
1851 April, The Knickerbocker; Or, New-York Monthly Magazine:In that event, as clear as fog, / You'll know what's meant by dog eat dog!
1889, William Dena Howells, A Hazard of New Fortunes, page 266:As for the game I came on them, it was dog eat dog, anyway.
2007 November 11, Zoe Wood, “Tesco has a flutter in Vegas”, in Guardian Unlimited:It is dog eat dog on Las Vegas's world-famous Strip as casino complexes such as MGM Grand and New York New York compete for attention with outlandish gestures like rollercoaster rides and a replica of the Manhattan skyline.
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