pudding

American  

[pood-ing] / ˈpʊd ɪŋ /

noun

1. a thick, soft dessert, typically containing flour or some other thickener, milk, eggs, a flavoring, and sweetener.

   tapioca pudding.

2. a similar dish unsweetened and served with or as a main dish.

   corn pudding.

3. British. the dessert course of a meal.

4. Nautical. a pad or fender for preventing scraping or chafing or for lessening shock between vessels or other objects.

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pudding British  

/ ˈpʊdɪŋ /

noun

1. a sweetened usually cooked dessert made in many forms and of various ingredients, such as flour, milk, and eggs, with fruit, etc

2. a savoury dish, usually soft and consisting partially of pastry or batter

   steak-and-kidney pudding

3. the dessert course in a meal

4. a sausage-like mass of seasoned minced meat, oatmeal, etc, stuffed into a prepared skin or bag and boiled

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pudding Idioms  

1. see proof of the pudding.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• puddingy
  adjective
• puddinglike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of pudding

1275–1325; Middle English poding kind of sausage; compare Old English puduc wen, sore (perhaps originally swelling), Low German puddewurst black pudding

Explanation

Pudding is a sweet, creamy dessert that you eat with a spoon. The song “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” implores someone to “bring us some figgy pudding,” but chocolate or vanilla would be much easier to find. Most pudding is made with milk, sugar, and flavoring with a thickening agent like cornstarch. Your favorite might be dark chocolate, butterscotch, or rice pudding. These are delicious, smooth, and usually served cold. In Britain, pudding simply means "dessert," but in North America pudding is a specific kind of after-dinner treat. Back in the 1300s, pudding had a different meaning: "a kind of sausage." You can still get that kind of blood pudding in England. If you must.

Example Sentences

No one has deployed hospital-grade pudding foil to greater effect.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 6, 2026

One of the reasons I love bread pudding so much is that it rewards restraint.

From Salon • May 25, 2026

For five generations, his family has owned and operated the Beaumont Inn, famous for its corn pudding.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 17, 2026

Search for fibermaxxing on social media and you’ll see any number of recipes for chia pudding and bean salad, as well as influencers talking up the benefits of a high-fiber diet.

From MarketWatch • May 10, 2026

We boil milk, sugar, and spices, as if we’re making vanilla pudding.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan