Belgian Malinois

noun

Belgian Ma·​li·​nois -ˌma-lən-ˈwä How to pronounce Belgian Malinois (audio)
plural Belgian Malinois
: any of a breed of working dogs developed in Belgium and having relatively short straight fawn or reddish-brown hair with black tips and a dense undercoat

called also Malinois

Examples of Belgian Malinois in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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.
They are often mixed with Belgian Malinois or German Shepherds. — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 2 Apr. 2026 Police say Rollo, a 17-month-old Belgian Malinois/Shepard mix, is still new to the job but was put to the test. — Dejanay Booth-Singleton, CBS News, 26 Jan. 2026 Siminoff is based in Los Angeles and has two dogs, a Belgian Malinois and a Chihuahua. — Annie Palmer, CNBC, 30 Sep. 2025 Becky Roche said her Belgian Malinois puppy, Ranger, collapsed while playing fetch in her yard last October. — Raul Trey Lopez, San Antonio Express-News, 20 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for Belgian Malinois

Word History

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of Belgian Malinois was in 1963

Rhymes for Belgian Malinois

See All Rhymes for Belgian Malinois

Browse Nearby Words

Belgian hare
Belgian Malinois
Belgian pansy
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Belgian Malinois.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Belgian%20Malinois. Accessed 7 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on Belgian Malinois

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about Belgian Malinois

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!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

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

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

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

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
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All