lapdog

noun

Definition of lapdognext
1
as in yes-man

Related Words

Relevance
2
as in puppy

Related Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of lapdog The company’s founder and CEO, Tom Stevens, says the idea to create the robotic lapdog came from his mother, who had to give up her real dog after being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. — Rena Goldman, EverydayHealth.com, 7 Jan. 2026 The ultimate souvenir for visitors to Yellowstone National Park early that summer was a closeup of Sylvia, a 225-pound grizzly bear, and her trio of cubs, each of whom was no larger than a lapdog. — JSTOR Daily, 19 Nov. 2025 Trump—through his lapdog chair of the FCC—is creating the fear & intimidation that serves an instrument of authoritarian power. — James Bickerton, MSNBC Newsweek, 19 Sep. 2025 History is strewn with the wreckage of dictatorships that have attracted and promoted incompetent lapdogs lacking talent or integrity. — Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 21 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for lapdog
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lapdog
  1. yes-man
  2. puppy
  3. stooge
  4. pup
  5. minion
  6. whelp
  7. watchdog
Noun
  • The first, Jim O’Neill, is a biotech entrepreneur who lacks a degree in medicine or public health and was widely seen as a yes-man for Kennedy.
    — Tom Bartlett, The Atlantic, 25 Mar. 2026
  • During the rollout of ChatGPT’s GPT-4o model in 2025, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman agreed with X users that the chatbot had a problem with being a yes-man.
    — CT Jones, Rolling Stone, 11 Mar. 2026
Definition of yes-man
Noun
  • Two puppies were stillborn, but the team was able to successfully deliver and save the smallest puppy, the runt of the litter.
    — Caroline Foreback, CBS News, 11 Aug. 2026
  • Unfortunately, the department shared that two adult dogs and one puppy died from smoke inhalation as a result of the blaze.
    — Charlotte Phillipp, PEOPLE, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of puppy
Noun
  • On occasion, Pitaro has sent a PR stooge to call me names off the record.
    — Bobby Burack OutKick, FOXNews.com, 2 July 2026
  • The Islamic Republic has always claimed that its domestic opponents were stooges of Israel and the United States, even when those charges were plainly implausible.
    — Laura Secor, The Atlantic, 16 June 2026
Definition of stooge
Noun
  • Mark Garcia, of Irvine, who won second place in the amateur category, found a mother harbor seal with her pup on a lazy afternoon at Treasure Island Beach.
    — Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 11 Aug. 2026
  • The beloved pup died in 1840 and is buried on the grounds of Windsor Castle, per English Heritage.
    — Audrey Schmidt, PEOPLE, 9 Aug. 2026
Definition of pup
Noun
  • One of Danhausen’s minions took out Mysterio with a flipping dive on the outside.
    — Blake Oestriecher, Forbes.com, 2 Aug. 2026
  • Daniel isn’t this devil’s only minion; Armand’s got an Illumination movie’s worth of cronies doing his bidding.
    — Rebecca Alter, Vulture, 20 July 2026
Definition of minion
Noun
  • Unlikely Meathead, a whelp who spoke from a position of occasionally whiny, frequently wet-behind-the-ears insulation from life’s realities, Reiner had gray in his beard and a lengthy track record of using his podium for good.
    — Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2019
Definition of whelp
Noun
  • The grant program is administered by the State Elections Enforcement Commission, or SEEC, Connecticut’s elections watchdog, and campaign treasurers grumble and groan to this day about nit-picking SEEC expenditures accountability requirements.
    — Elona Vaisnys, Hartford Courant, 9 Aug. 2026
  • Many of the creators who worked with Steyer’s campaign disclosed that they were paid, but the state’s campaign finance watchdog is investigating several other instances in which creators allegedly didn’t.
    — Sophie Austin, Fortune, 8 Aug. 2026
Definition of watchdog

Browse Nearby Words

lap
lapdog
lap dogs
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lapdog.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lapdog. Accessed 18 Aug. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on lapdog

Nglish: Translation of lapdog for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of oxymoron

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Do you 'say your piece' or 'say your peace'?

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List

It's a Scorcher! Words for the Summer Heat

Is “GIF” Pronounced “Jiff” or “Giff”?

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Words from the 'Odyssey'

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
image of a green cube out of place in a lineup of red spheres
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Vol. 2 Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.
See All