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Synonyms

dog-eared

American  
[dawg-eerd, dog-] / ˈdɔgˌɪərd, ˈdɒg- /
Or dogeared

adjective

  1. having dog-ears.

    a dog-eared book.

  2. shabby; worn.

    dog-eared furniture.
dog-eared British  

adjective

  1. having dog-ears

  2. shabby or worn

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of dog-eared

First recorded in 1775–85

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

If journalism is the first draft of history, documentary filmmaking is often an overdue, dog-eared galley proof with no cover art.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 25, 2025

"This one changed my life," he says, pulling out a dog-eared copy of Pete Rock's They Reminisce Over You.

From BBC • Sep. 15, 2025

"Sinners" is culture vulture bait, laden with multiple meanings and dog-eared history pages, and who can resist a puzzle?

From Salon • May 2, 2025

Under President Biden’s Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, the first Native American to hold the post, the bureau’s dog-eared script has acquired a few edits.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 24, 2023

It’s an old book, a textbook it looks like, dog-eared and inky.

From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.