dog tag

noun

1. a small disk or strip attached to a dog's harness or collar stating owner, home, etc.
2. identification tag.
3. Informal.
   1. any tag for a suitcase, camera, or other personal possession with the owner's name or address.
   2. a tag or card with a person's name or affiliation, worn at conventions, large meetings, etc.

dog tag

noun

1. slang.
   a military personal-identification disc

Word History and Origins

Origin of dog tag¹

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

The enemy had removed and scattered their dog tags.

From BBC

Indoors hang Pte Stone's Army dog tags – the identification discs he was wearing when he died.

From BBC

All prisoners’ dog tags start with the letter K, which stands for “kolonya” or prison colony.

From BBC

When speaking to BBC News NI he brought along a clapper board, dog tag and Ranger Battalion jacket he kept from the set of Saving Private Ryan.

From BBC

"These are the dog tags which were recovered after I got a bullet through the lung, and there is blood still on some of them," he said.

From BBC

Related Words

• description
• passport
• recognition
• testimony