: any of a breed of very large massive powerful smooth-coated dogs that are apricot, fawn, or brindle and are often used as guard dogs
Illustration of mastiff
Examples of mastiff in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebEnglish mastiff named Otis, traveling the world, and reconnecting.—Wendy Grossman Kantor, Peoplemag, 12 May 2024 Murray, Milton, Robert and Lucas are four mastiffs − his dogs.—Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 10 May 2024 Kevin Hart: Chihuahua The combative, diminutive foil to his (mastiff) co-star.—Rohita Kadambi, The New Yorker, 8 Feb. 2024 Duke, a 16-year-old pit bull and mastiff mix, died after receiving burns on roughly 70% of his body.—Jose R. Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 14 Mar. 2024 Today there are more than 400 genetically distinct breeds, ranging from pint-size Pomeranians to massive mastiffs.—Jack Tamisiea, Scientific American, 2 Feb. 2024 Peter Fisher, photographer and proud owner of a 2-year-old Boykin spaniel named Waylon
Poodles and mastiffs and hounds, oh my!—Bishop Sand, Washington Post, 6 Dec. 2023 Kathleen Morrill The results showed that Balto was only part Siberian husky, with additional ancestry relating to Alaskan sled dogs, village dogs, Greenland sled dogs, and Tibetan mastiffs.—Jennifer Ouellette, Ars Technica, 27 Apr. 2023 Jessica introduced her Instagram followers to Lola, their Neapolitan mastiff puppy.—Jacqueline Weiss, Peoplemag, 23 Oct. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'mastiff.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
Middle English mastif, from Medieval Latin mastivus, from Vulgar Latin *masuetivus, from Latin mansuetus tame — more at mansuetude
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