- a plant or animal, esp a dog, of mixed or unknown breeding; a crossbreed or hybrid
- offensive a person of mixed race
- Austral NZ toughness and physical aggression: a tall southpaw with plenty of mongrel
- of mixed origin, breeding, character, etc
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
mon•grel /ˈmʌŋgrəl, ˈmɑŋ-/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
adj. [before a noun]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- an animal or plant, but esp. a dog, of mixed breed.
adj. [before a noun]
- Botanybeing a mongrel.
mon•grel
(mung′grəl, mong′-),USA pronunciation n.
adj.
mon′grel•ism, mon′grel•ness, n.
mon′grel•ly, adv.
- a dog of mixed or indeterminate breed.
- Botanyany animal or plant resulting from the crossing of different breeds or varieties.
- any cross between different things, esp. if inharmonious or indiscriminate.
adj.
- Botanyof mixed breed, nature, or origin;
of or like a mongrel.
- 1425–75; late Middle English (once): heraldic term for a type of dog; equivalent. to mong(e) mixture (Old English gemang; compare mingle) + -rel
mon′grel•ly, adv.
- 1. mutt. 2. cross, half-breed. See hybrid.
- 2. thoroughbred, purebred.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
mongrel /ˈmʌŋɡrəl/ n
'mongrel' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):