Meaning & use
Australian kelpie
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A medium-sized Australian dog breed with a lean body, erect ears, and a strong instinct for herding sheep and cattle.
Grammar: Countable: you can say 'an Australian kelpie' or 'two Australian kelpies'.
Patterns
- an Australian kelpie
- Australian kelpies
The farmer relies on his Australian kelpie to move the sheep across the paddock.
Australian kelpies are known for their stamina and intelligence.
She adopted an Australian kelpie from a rescue center.
nouncountableScottish
A mythical creature in Scottish folklore that often appears as a horse and is said to haunt rivers and streams.
Grammar: Countable: refers to one such spirit or several.
Patterns
- a kelpie
- the kelpie
In old Scottish tales, a kelpie lures travelers into the water.
The story warns children to stay away from the loch because a kelpie lives there.
Word forms
| plural | Australian kelpies |
|---|
Common combinations
- Australian kelpie puppy
- The Australian kelpie puppy already tries to herd the family's chickens.
- working Australian kelpie
- A working Australian kelpie can cover many miles in a day.
- Australian kelpie breed
- The Australian kelpie breed was developed for herding in hot, dry conditions.
- train an Australian kelpie
- It takes patience to train an Australian kelpie for competition.
Synonyms and how they differ
- kelpie
- A shorter, everyday name for the same dog, widely used in Australia.
- Australian sheepdog
- A broader term that can refer to kelpies and other herding breeds, so it is less precise.
Commonly confused: Australian kelpie or collie? Australian kelpie or dingo?
Australian kelpie vs collie
A collie is a different herding breed, often larger and with a longer coat; kelpies are smaller and have shorter coats.
Australian kelpie vs dingo
A dingo is a wild Australian dog, not a domesticated breed like the kelpie.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'Australian kelpie' correctly?
Choose one answer.
Option 3 is correct because 'Australian kelpies' is the plural form and the sentence describes their common use. Option 1 is wrong because kelpies are dogs, not cats. Option 2 uses 'a' before a vowel sound, which is incorrect. Option 4 is wrong because kelpies are not birds.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “Australian kelpie”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.