alpha dog
Speech parts
1. alpha dog - Noun
2. alpha dog - Verb
Meaning
alpha dog (plural alpha dogs)
(often figuratively) A dominant dog; a dog that is an alpha male or alpha female.
alpha dog (third-person singular simple present alpha dogs, present participle alpha dogging, simple past and past participle alpha dogged)
Alternative form of alpha-dog.
alpha-dog (third-person singular simple present alpha-dogs, present participle alpha-dogging, simple past and past participle alpha-dogged)
(informal, chiefly US) To behave like an alpha dog; to behave in a crassly dominant manner, especially at the expense of another male.
Alternative names
alpha-dog
Examples
Alpha Dog was my first exposure to him and I’ve admired his intensity ever since.
She has also appeared in such movies as the crime drama Alpha Dog (2006), the drama Bobby (2006), a biographical drama film about a porn actress, Lovelace (2013), and, most recently, the ensemble film Mothers and Daughters (2016).
Market-rate housing developers are like an unruly Alpha dog.