pit bull

or pit·bull

[ pit bool ]

noun

1. a stocky, muscular dog with a broad skull and a smooth coat, belonging to an informal category of purebred and mixed-breed dogs that includes the American Staffordshire terrier, the Staffordshire bull terrier, and sometimes the American bulldog or boxer.
2. Also called A·mer·i·can pit bull ter·rier. American Staffordshire terrier ( def ).

Word History and Origins

Origin of pit bull¹

First recorded in 1925–30; pit ¹( def ) (in the sense “enclosure for staging animal fights”) + bull(dog) ( def )

Example Sentences

The pit bull of the West Wing has his tail between his legs.

From The Daily Beast

Delachaise, a pit bull mix, made it across the field on her first try, but had to stop and sniff the camera.

From The Daily Beast

They live in their Los Angeles pad with their two dogs—Meeka, a miniature Japanese Spitz, and Lulu Bella, a pit bull.

From The Daily Beast

And two months later, the couple rescued a boxer–pit bull mix and named it Sophie.

From The Daily Beast

Last week, an 8-month-old boy in San Diego was killed by a pit bull in an apartment he shared with his mother and her roommate.

From The Daily Beast

With a generous portion of pit bull among his assorted ancestors, the dog feared nothing.

From Project Gutenberg

She resembled outwardly neither collie nor pit bull-terrier.

From Project Gutenberg