variants or less commonly dog tired
informal
: very tired : exhausted
We were all tired, dog-tired, until an event that galvanized everybody into life.Oliver Sacks
Even though he was dog tired after long days in the mines, Dad would still pitch batting practice to me in the backyard when he got home from work …Mickey Mantle

Examples of dog-tired in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Rescuers found Rocky dog-tired and with an injury to one of his paws, per The Guardian. Kimberlee Speakman, Peoplemag, 17 May 2023 Make it to an inn to give your dog-tired heroes a rest. Aaron Zimmerman, Ars Technica, 8 May 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'dog-tired.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1770, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of dog-tired was in 1770

Dictionary Entries Near dog-tired

Cite this Entry

“Dog-tired.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dog-tired. Accessed 31 Oct. 2024.

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!