Doggo: meaning, and doggo vs pupper

White husky with its tongue out in a blue stripes bow tie collar and leash

DoggoLingo dictionary

noun · also: doggos, woofer

doggo: A dog. Specifically, a very good one.

Doggo is DoggoLingo for dog, usually a grown-up, bigger one; a pupper is the smaller, younger version. Every dog qualifies. Most are rated 13/10.

In DoggoLingo

“Look at this doggo. Heckin majestic. 13/10 would boop.”

Use “doggo” in a sentence

Mocha is a good doggo. A heckin good doggo.

Doggo: the real science

Where doggo comes from

Doggo and pupper are affectionate words for dog and puppy in the internet slang called DoggoLingo. Doggos tend to be older and larger, puppers younger and smaller. [1] The language grew on accounts like WeRateDogs and the Dogspotting Facebook group, and its use peaked around 2017. [2]

The -o ending

Australians often add an affectionate -o to the end of words, and Dogspotting was especially popular in Australia, which helped give us doggo. [1]

Bonus: lie doggo

Long before the internet, doggo already meant something else: to lie doggo is to stay hidden, out of sight. [3] Which is exactly what your dog does when it's bath time.

Every doggo has a type. Take the dog personality quiz.

Doggo questions

What does doggo mean?

Doggo is an affectionate DoggoLingo word for dog, usually an older or bigger one. A pupper is a younger, smaller dog. [1]

What is the difference between a doggo and a pupper?

Doggos tend to be older and larger, puppers younger and smaller. [1]

What does lie doggo mean?

It's an older informal phrase meaning to stay hidden and out of sight. [3]

How we got this

Not veterinary advice. Last reviewed:

The meaning comes from how the word is used online and from slang dictionaries. The science section says only what the linked sources say; we read each one before quoting it. The drawing and example sentences are made up for fun.

Sources

  1. doggo / pupper (slang). Dictionary.com. Supports: Doggo and pupper are affectionate DoggoLingo words for dog and puppy; doggos tend to be older and larger, puppers younger and smaller; Australians often add -o to words; bork, heckin and woofer are related words.
  2. DoggoLingo. Wikipedia. Supports: DoggoLingo emerged in the 2010s and peaked around 2017; it adds -o, -er and -ino endings (doggo, pupper, pupperino), uses onomatopoeia like mlem and blep, heckin as an intensifier, doin me a ... verbs, eye-dialect spellings, and calls a human a hooman, a snake a snek and a bird a birb.
  3. doggo (adverb). Dictionary.com. Supports: In older informal English, to lie doggo means to stay hidden and out of sight.

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