pit bull

or pit·bull

[ pit bool ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

a stocky, muscular dog with a broad skull and a smooth coat, belonging to an informal category of purebred and mixed-breed dogs that includes the American Staffordshire terrier, the Staffordshire bull terrier, and sometimes the American bulldog or boxer.
Also called A·mer·i·can pit bull ter·rier. American Staffordshire terrier ( def ).

First recorded in 1925–30; pit ¹( def ) (in the sense “enclosure for staging animal fights”) + bull(dog) ( def )

The pit bull of the West Wing has his tail between his legs.

Delachaise, a pit bull mix, made it across the field on her first try, but had to stop and sniff the camera.

They live in their Los Angeles pad with their two dogs—Meeka, a miniature Japanese Spitz, and Lulu Bella, a pit bull.

And two months later, the couple rescued a boxer–pit bull mix and named it Sophie.

Last week, an 8-month-old boy in San Diego was killed by a pit bull in an apartment he shared with his mother and her roommate.

With a generous portion of pit bull among his assorted ancestors, the dog feared nothing.

She resembled outwardly neither collie nor pit bull-terrier.

April 19, 2024tortuous

[tawr-choo-uhs ]

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