Greyhound
noun, verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A lean breed of dog used in hunting and racing.
"Her young heart was full of love; and a world of kindly feelings were wasted on her delicate greyhound, her bright winged birds, and her favourite flowers."
- 2 A bus run by Greyhound Lines.
"I'm just taking a Greyhound on the Hudson River line / Because I'm in a New York state of mind"
- 3 a tall slender dog of an ancient breed noted for swiftness and keen sight; used as a racing dog wordnet
- 4 A highball cocktail of vodka and grapefruit juice.
- 5 A swift steamer, especially an ocean steamer. dated
- 1 To leap rapidly across the surface of the water. transitive
Example
More examples"Somewhere in La Mancha, in a place whose name I do not wish to recall, there lived not long ago a nobleman. To his name he had a lance in its sheath, an old leather buckler, a scrawny workhorse and a greyhound that scurried about."
Etymology
From Old English grīġhund, from a cognate or borrowing of Old Norse grøy (“bitch”) (whence Icelandic grey, thus not related to the colour grey) plus hund (“hound”). Altered by folk etymology to appear to be grey + hound.
Related phrases
More for "greyhound"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.