What does doglegging mean?
Doglegging describes movement or layout characterized by sharp, abrupt bends — the kind of angled turn that gives a 'dogleg' road, stairway, or golf hole its name. When a mountain road is said to be doglegging up a slope, it means it climbs in a series of sudden right-angle turns rather than sweeping curves or straight lines. The term is most at home in golf, where a doglegging fairway bends sharply partway to the green and rewards players who shape their shots accordingly, but it appears wherever routes and structures take angular turns: hiking trails, plumbing runs, staircases, and even the paths of rivers or pipelines. The word carries a neutral, practical connotation, though on the golf course a doglegging hole often implies challenge and strategic demand. It is nearly always used in progressive constructions, reflecting the ongoing nature of the bending itself. General readers meet the base noun 'dogleg' more often, but doglegging remains a vivid, precise way to describe geometry that refuses to run straight.
To make or follow a sharp, abrupt bend; (in golf) of a hole, to bend sharply partway along its length.
"The pipeline spent miles doglegging around private property before reaching the refinery."
Almost always appears in progressive tenses; the simple past 'doglegged' is rarer in this continuous-bending sense.
The action or instance of taking or having a sharp angular bend.
"Constant doglegging made the drive through the pass slow but scenic."
Uncountable when referring to the action generally; rare compared with the base noun 'dogleg' for naming individual bends.
Golfers have been cursing doglegs for over a century — and 'doglegging' is what the course does to punish anyone who tries to hit straight through them.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of doglegging
The word derives from 'dogleg', a compound of the native English nouns 'dog' and 'leg', first applied in the nineteenth century to anything bent at an angle resembling a canine's hind leg — notably a type of stair and, later, a golf hole. The verb 'to dogleg' followed naturally, describing the act of making or following such a bend, and doglegging is simply its present participle and verbal noun. Both elements are common Germanic words inherited into modern English, with 'leg' reinforced by Old Norse 'leggr'; there are no classical cognates, as the compound was formed entirely within English.
Related word forms
How doglegging is actually used
Chiefly used in technical and descriptive contexts — golf commentary, architecture, surveying, and travel writing about roads and trails. The verb is almost always found in progressive forms ('is doglegging', 'kept doglegging') rather than simple present or past. Register is neutral but somewhat specialized; general readers more often encounter the base noun 'dogleg'.
Easily confused with doglegging
Jogging means running at a gentle pace, while doglegging refers to taking or forming a sharp angular bend.