What does dogear mean?
A dogear is the folded-down corner of a book or document page, made as a quick, informal way to mark where the reader left off. The word works as both a noun ('the novel was full of dogears') and a verb ('don't dogear my paperback'), though it appears most often in its adjectival form, 'dog-eared', which describes anything worn, creased, or shabby from heavy handling — a dog-eared notebook, a dog-eared map, even a dog-eared manuscript. The name comes from the visual resemblance between a folded page corner and a dog's floppy ear, a comparison so natural that the term has been in English since at least the seventeenth century. Attitudes toward the practice vary widely: for casual readers, turning down a corner is an innocent habit, while bibliophiles view each dogear as lasting damage. Whether loved or loathed, the word captures one of the most familiar small rituals of reading.
A folded-down corner of a page, made as an informal marker of one's place.
"Every dogear in the textbook marked a chapter she still hadn't finished."
Often pluralized when several pages have been turned down.
To fold down the corner of a page as a makeshift bookmark.
"Please don't dogear the pages of a borrowed book."
Frequently appears in the participle 'dog-eared' describing worn or creased materials.
Regular plural; also commonly written as the closed or hyphenated variants 'dog-ears'. The hyphenated adjective form 'dog-eared' is by far the most frequent usage overall.
"The old atlas was riddled with dogears from decades of travel planning."
The folded corner of your page is named after a floppy dog's ear — because that's exactly what it looks like.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of dogear
Dogear is an English compound of 'dog' and 'ear', coined from the likeness of a folded page corner to a dog's drooping ear. It has been part of the language since at least the early seventeenth century. Because both elements are native English words rather than borrowings from Latin or Greek, the word has no classical cognates, though other English compounds built on 'ear' — such as earmark and earwig — draw on the same body-part element.
Related word forms
How dogear is actually used
Most commonly encountered as the participial adjective 'dog-eared' describing worn books or papers; the noun and verb forms are less frequent but fully established. The practice itself divides readers — some consider dogearing pages a harmless convenience, others a small act of vandalism against a book.
Easily confused with dogear
Doggerel is comically bad or trivial verse, while a dogear is simply a folded page corner — they share only a passing sound resemblance.