Mongrel

//ˈmʌŋ.ɡɹəl// adj, noun, slang

adj, noun, slang ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    Someone or something of mixed kind or uncertain origin, especially a dog. derogatory, often

    "That dog is a mongrel; who knows what breed it could be!"

  2. 2
    an inferior dog or one of mixed breed wordnet
  3. 3
    Someone or something of mixed kind or uncertain origin, especially a dog.; A mixed-race person. derogatory, ethnic, offensive, often, slur
  4. 4
    derogatory term for a variation that is not genuine; something irregular or inferior or of dubious origin wordnet
  5. 5
    A thuggish, obnoxious, or contemptible person; (often preceded by "poor") a pitiable person. Commonwealth, Ireland, UK, slang

    ""Yanto bloody Evans!" Jack stuttered with rage. "Yanto bloody Evans! That... that... bloody mongrel! D'you know who he is? He's the one who knocked me back for a bit of extra timber before the roof fell in on me!""

Show 1 more definition
  1. 6
    An erect penis; an erection. Australia, slang
Adjective
  1. 1
    Of mixed breed, nature, or origin; of or like a mongrel. not-comparable

    "English spelling is often regarded as confusing and unpredictable due to the mongrel nature of that language."

Example

More examples

"Laika was a small, stray mongrel picked up from the street."

Etymology

From Middle English mongrel, equivalent to mong (“mixture”) + -rel (pejorative diminutive); from Old English ġemang (“mingling”) (whence Modern English among), from Proto-Germanic *mang- (“mix”).

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.