canine

1. not comparableOf, or pertaining to, a dog or dogs.

   A lost dog sniffed around the flower beds wishing it had some canine company[…]

   2005, Gareth Roberts, Only Human, page 17

   3 more examples

   Two canine animals in a time of dearth, may be truly said to struggle with each other which shall get food and live.

   1859, Charles Darwin, On the Origin of Species

   We carried the dog round to the yard, and I examined his head. […] I accepted the care of the canine patient.

   1913, Sax Rohmer, chapter 8, in The Insidious Dr. Fu Manchu

   Police in a West Springfield arrested a man named Kenneth Appleby and suggested that he might be a local version of Houston's Dean Corll (this was before John Gacy's Illinois murders had been discovered). Appleby's yard was dug up, but the only bones discovered was canine.

   1979 February 10, Allen Young, “Living In The Country”, in Gay Community News, volume 6, number 28, page 8

   Synonyms: dogly, houndly

2. not comparableDog-like.

   In many respects she made me an admirable wife. Her affection for me was canine—positively.

   1891, Arthur Quiller-Couch, “The Affair of Bleakirk-on-Sands,”, in Noughts & Crosses

   1 more example

   I look for reflections, in your face Canine devotion, time can't erase Out on the corner, locked in your room I never believe them and I never assume

   2000, Josh Homme, Nick Oliveri, “The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret”, in Rated R, performed by Queens of the Stone Age

   Synonyms: dogly, doglike, houndly

3. not comparableanatomyOf or pertaining to mammalian teeth which are cuspids or fangs.

   Then his upper lip may be seen to be raised, especially at the corners, so that his huge canine teeth are exhibited.

   1872, Charles Darwin, chapter 10, in Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals

4. not comparableobsoletemedicineOf an appetite: depraved or inordinate; used to describe eating disorders.

plural canines

1. Any member of Caninae, the only living subfamily of Canidae.

   The dire wolf, Aenocyon dirus, which was the inspiration for the fearsome canine featured in the HBO TV series “Game of Thrones,” was a top predator that once roamed North America. (HBO shares parent company Warner Bros. Discovery with CNN.)

   2025 April 7, Katie Hunt, “Scientists say they have resurrected the dire wolf”, in CNN, archived from the original on 27 Apr 2025

   1 more example

   Whatever the case, the pair’s adventure certainly became famous in 2016, when a large dating program of fossils and artefacts from Chauvet Cave, which included the smear of charcoal discarded by the child, confirmed that the tracks constitute the oldest unequivocal evidence of a relationship between humans and canines.

   2018, Tim Flannery, Europe: A Natural History, page 187

2. formalAny of certain extant canids regarded as similar to the dog or wolf (including coyotes, jackals, etc.) but distinguished from the vulpines, which are regarded as fox-like.

   The canine ran across the room to the open window, put his front paws on the sill and pointed his nose at the sidewalk below.

   2010, M. S. Mititch, The Spychip Conspiracy, page 189

   Synonyms: dog

3. Synonym of cuspid, the pointed tooth between the incisors and premolars in heterodont mammals.

   He tried to push Kissu into his cage, but the cougar charged back out and sank his canines into Wilson's rump.

   2006, Amy Sutherland, Kicked, Bitten, and Scratched: Life and Lessons at the World's Premier School for Animal Trainers

   Synonyms: cuspid

4. slangcard gamesA king and a nine as a starting hand in Texas hold 'em due to phonetic similarity.

   You have been dealt King-9 unsuited ("canine") in your pocket.

   2005, Dennis Purdy, The Illustrated Guide to Texas Hold'em, page 270