Phrase guide

tin 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

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  • Australia: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A noise-making device, often constructed ad hoc from materials to hand, used by a farmer to get sheep or cattle moving.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Australia

Examples

  • 2005 October 30, Bruce Simpson, interviewed on Landline, Australian Broadcasting Commission, transcript, I was with the cattle on my own at that stage, and to get them going, I inserted a few stones in the quart pot and used that as a tin dog. It got the cattle moving.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Alternative form of tinned dog, a disparaging term for canned meat.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: Australia, alt-of, alternative

Examples

  • 1993, Don Munday, Tin Dog, Damper and Dust, autobiography.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From tin + dog.