police dog

American

noun

a dog trained to assist the police.
German shepherd.

police dog British

noun

a dog, often a German shepherd dog, trained to help the police, as in tracking

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of police dog

First recorded in 1905–10

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

A former police dog handler says a law to protect service animals is not being implemented properly.

From BBC

"Those who need a little help are often glad to be found by a police dog."

From BBC

Police in Malawi are investigating how four police dogs went missing from a presidential palace in the capital, Lilongwe, during the political transition in September.

From BBC

Cambridgeshire Police said: "The offender had left the scene when the call was made and despite a search of the area by officers and a police dog, the offender was not identified."

From BBC

Under cross examination Ms Haggerty-James accepted Robinson appeared to be focused on one of the police dog handlers and was not directing abuse at any other officers.

From BBC

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023