bulldog

Etymology

bull + dog, in reference to bullbaiting.

noun

1. A breed of dog developed in England by the crossing of the bullbaiting dog and the Pug to produce a ladies' companion dog, having a very smooth coat, a flattened face, wrinkly cheeks, powerful front legs, and smaller hind legs.
   1. The original form of this breed, the British bulldog.
2. A stubborn or determined person.
   We need a lawyer who will fight for our case, a real bulldog.
   His bulldog determination was destined to bring him the opportunity he was seeking.
3. A refractory material used as a furnace lining, obtained by calcining the cinder or slag from the puddling furnace of a rolling mill.
4. (UK, Oxford University slang) One of the proctors' officers.
5. (professional wrestling) Any move in which the wrestler grabs an opponent's head and jumps forward, so that the wrestler lands, often in a sitting position, and drives the opponent's face into the mat.
6. (US, publishing) A bulldog edition.
   The bulldog's just gone to press. 1940, Citizen Kane (film)
7. Any of various species of African freshwater fish in the genus Marcusenius, a type of elephantfish.

verb

1. (intransitive, often with into or through) To force oneself (in a particular direction).
   So to give you some idea, we had scenarios where Yamato came steaming over the horizon and just bulldogged its way straight through the American battleline, and the whole thing was done and dusted inside of an hour, with 18-inch shells just blowing apart anything in sight. 6 March 2019, Drachinifel, 14:01 from the start, in The Battle of Samar (Alternate History) - Bring on the Battleships!, archived from the original on 2022-07-20
2. (transitive) To chase (a steer) on horseback and wrestle it to the ground by twisting its horns (as a rodeo performance).