[dawg-ber-ee, -buh-ree, dog-]
noun, plural dog·ber·ries.
  1. the berry or fruit of any of various plants, as the European dogwood, Cornus sanguinea, the chokeberry, Aronia arbutifolia, or the mountain ash, Sorbus americana.
  2. the plant itself.
  3. any of several plants, especially the dog rose, bearberry, and guelder rose.

Origin of dogberry

First recorded in 1545–55; dog + berry


noun, plural Dog·ber·rys for 2.
  1. a foolish constable in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing.
  2. any foolish, blundering, or stupid official. Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for dogberry

Historical Examples of dogberry

  • Here is an ignoramus, and Dogberry is placed on the judge's bench.

  • Like Dogberry, these things are to him but the gift of God; and he knows them at his birth.

    Nuts and Nutcrackers

    Charles James Lever

  • It is an important examination, and therefore, like Dogberry, we must spare no wisdom.


    Sir Walter Scott

  • It is just what the local Dogberry and the scratch jury happen to find.


    To Have and To Hold

    Mary Johnston

British Dictionary definitions for dogberry


noun plural -ries
  1. any of certain plants that have berry-like fruits, such as the European dogwood or the bearberry
  2. the fruit of any of these plants


noun plural -ries
  1. (sometimes capital) a foolish, meddling, and usually old official
Derived Formsdogberryism, noun

Word Origin for dogberry

after Dogberry, character in Shakespeare's Much Ado about Nothing (1598)