Phrase guide

dog eat dog

adj · 1 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • UK: /dɒɡ iːt dɒɡ/
  • US: /dɔɡ it dɔɡ/

1

adj

Meaning 1

Ruthlessly acquisitive or competitive; of a business or other set of circumstances, trying to succeed at the expense of other people.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: idiomatic, informal, not-comparable

Examples

  • dog-eat-dog world
  • 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.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: every man for himself, kill or be killed

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From dog + eat + dog. Derived from Latin canis caninam non est (“a dog does not eat the flesh of a dog”).

Across languages

Translations

13 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: قَانُون الغَابَة (qānūn al-ḡāba) — harsh and ruthless
  • Bulgarian: безскрупулен (bezskrupulen) — harsh and ruthless
  • Chinese Mandarin: 狗咬狗 (gǒuyǎogǒu) — harsh and ruthless
  • Czech: podle zákona džungle — harsh and ruthless
  • Finnish: häikäilemätön — harsh and ruthless
  • Finnish: säälimätön — harsh and ruthless
  • Finnish: ankara — harsh and ruthless
  • Finnish: armoton — harsh and ruthless
  • Finnish: karu — harsh and ruthless
  • French: loi de la jungle — harsh and ruthless
  • Greek: κλέψας του κλέψαντος (klépsas tou klépsantos) — harsh and ruthless
  • Hungarian: farkastörvény — harsh and ruthless
  • Latin: canis canem edit — harsh and ruthless