Phrase guide

service dog

noun · 2 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.

  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˈsɜːvɪs ˌdɒɡ/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • General-American: /ˈsɜɹvɪs ˌdɔɡ/
  • General-American, cot-caught-merger: /-ˌdɑɡ/

1

noun

Meaning 1

A dog which serves people by helping them with activities of daily living, with search and rescue, or with other (non-draft and nonfarming) tasks.

A dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Topics: government, law-enforcement, military, politics, war

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: assistance dog, aid dog

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: working dog, assistance animal, service animal, working animal

Narrower terms: police dog, rescue dog

2

noun

Meaning 2

A dog which serves people by helping them with activities of daily living, with search and rescue, or with other (non-draft and nonfarming) tasks.

A dog which assists a person who has a physical disability or a mental disability such as post-traumatic stress disorder.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Canada, US

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: assistance dog, aid dog, helper dog

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: working dog, assistance animal, service animal, working animal

Narrower terms: guide dog, hearing dog, hearing-ear dog, seeing-eye dog, support dog

History

Etymology

From service (noun) + dog (noun).

Across languages

Translations

21 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Catalan: gos d'assistència — dog which serves people by helping them; dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers; dog which assists a person who has a physical or mental disability
  • Chinese Mandarin: 服務犬 /服务犬 (fúwùquǎn) — dog which serves people by helping them; dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers; dog which assists a person who has a physical or mental disability
  • Dutch: hulphond — dog which serves people by helping them; dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers; dog which assists a person who has a physical or mental disability
  • Dutch: assistentiehond — dog which serves people by helping them; dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers; dog which assists a person who has a physical or mental disability
  • Finnish: palveluskoira — dog which serves people by helping them; dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers; dog which assists a person who has a physical or mental disability
  • French: chien d'assistance — dog which serves people by helping them; dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers; dog which assists a person who has a physical or mental disability
  • Georgian: დამხმარე ძაღლი (damxmare ʒaɣli) — dog which serves people by helping them; dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers; dog which assists a person who has a physical or mental disability
  • Georgian: მეგზური ძაღლი (megzuri ʒaɣli) — dog which serves people by helping them; dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers; dog which assists a person who has a physical or mental disability
  • German: Diensthund — dog which serves people by helping them; dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers; dog which assists a person who has a physical or mental disability
  • German: Assistenzhund — dog which serves people by helping them; dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers; dog which assists a person who has a physical or mental disability
  • Hindi: निर्योग्यता में सहायक कुत्ता (niryogyatā meṃ sahāyak kuttā) — dog which serves people by helping them; dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers; dog which assists a person who has a physical or mental disability
  • Irish: madra cuidithe — dog which serves people by helping them; dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers; dog which assists a person who has a physical or mental disability
  • Japanese: 補助犬 (hojoken) — dog which serves people by helping them; dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers; dog which assists a person who has a physical or mental disability
  • Japanese: アシスタントドッグ (ashisutanto doggu) — dog which serves people by helping them; dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers; dog which assists a person who has a physical or mental disability
  • Korean: 보조견 (bojogyeon) — dog which serves people by helping them; dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers; dog which assists a person who has a physical or mental disability
  • Korean: 도우미견 (doumigyeon) — dog which serves people by helping them; dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers; dog which assists a person who has a physical or mental disability
  • Malay: anjing khidmat — dog which serves people by helping them; dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers; dog which assists a person who has a physical or mental disability
  • Polish: pies towarzyszący — dog which serves people by helping them; dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers; dog which assists a person who has a physical or mental disability
  • Russian: служебная собака (služebnaja sobaka) — dog which serves people by helping them; dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers; dog which assists a person who has a physical or mental disability
  • Vietnamese: chó hỗ trợ — dog which serves people by helping them; dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers; dog which assists a person who has a physical or mental disability
  • Welsh: ci cymorth — dog which serves people by helping them; dog which assists the work of military or law enforcement officers; dog which assists a person who has a physical or mental disability