bulldog

plural bulldogs

1. A breed of dog developed in England by the crossing of the bullbaiting dog and the Pug to produce a ladies' companion dog, having a very smooth coat, a flattened face, wrinkly cheeks, powerful front legs, and smaller hind legs.
   1. The original form of this breed, the English bulldog.

      Synonyms: British bulldog

2. A stubborn or determined person.

   We need a lawyer who will fight for our case, a real bulldog.

   1 more example

   His bulldog determination was destined to bring him the opportunity he was seeking.

3. A refractory material used as a furnace lining, obtained by calcining the cinder or slag from the puddling furnace of a rolling mill.
4. UKOxford University slangOne of the proctors' officers.

   […] and was confronted by a “bulldog,” a proctor's assistant in charge of discipline, who asked if he was a member of the university since he wasn't wearing a gown, and he was able to say that he wasn't, […]

   2019, Thomas Merton, Patrick F. O'Connell, Medieval Cistercian History (page lxxiii)

5. governmentAny move in which the wrestler grabs an opponent's head and jumps forward, so that the wrestler lands, often in a sitting position, and drives the opponent's face into the mat.
6. USmediaA bulldog edition.

   The bulldog's just gone to press.

   1940, Citizen Kane (film)

7. Any of various species of African freshwater fish in the genus Marcusenius, a type of elephantfish.
8. UKcapitalizedsometimesThe children's game of British Bulldog or Red Rover.

   […] playing bulldog on the plaza in front of the meeting hall.

   2010 April 29, Bill Svelmoe, Spirits Eat Ripe Papaya, Wipf and Stock Publishers, →ISBN, page 138

   3 more examples

   "... playing bulldog in the yard so I know you're fit enough to fight. Have you decided when you're coming back?”

   2008 08, Christ Kennedy, Two Sons Nelson, iUniverse, →ISBN, page 304

   […] playing bulldog, that game where you have two teams, one team runs and the other one catches. You have to run from […]

   2018, Avril Brock, Pam Jarvis, Yinka Olusoga, Perspectives on Play: Learning for Life

   Once Tyson skidded on some wet leaves when he and his friends were playing Bulldog in the park. As he lay on the ground they all laughed at him, even Ajay, and although he'd twisted his ankle, what hurt most was his pride.

   2018 June 14, Irvine Welsh, A.L. Kennedy, Meera Syal, John Niven, Pauline Melville, Daisy Buchanan, Christopher Brookmyre, Zoe Venditozzi, Nina Stibbe, Mike Gayle, Murray Lachlan Young, Barney Farmer, 24 Stories: of Hope for Survivors of the Grenfell Tower Fire, Random House, →ISBN

present singular third person bulldogs · participle present bulldogging · participle past bulldogged · past bulldogged

1. intransitiveoftenTo force oneself (in a particular direction).

   So to give you some idea, we had scenarios where Yamato came steaming over the horizon and just bulldogged its way straight through the American battleline, and the whole thing was done and dusted inside of an hour, with 18-inch shells just blowing apart anything in sight.

   2019 March 6, Drachinifel, 14:01 from the start, in The Battle of Samar (Alternate History) - Bring on the Battleships!, archived from the original on 20 Jul 2022

   Synonyms: bull

2. transitiveTo chase (a steer) on horseback and wrestle it to the ground by twisting its horns (as a rodeo performance).

1. A locality in the Clarence Valley council area, north eastern New South Wales, Australia.