fudge

¹ American  

[fuhj] / fʌdʒ /

noun

1. a soft candy made of sugar, butter, milk, chocolate, and sometimes nuts.

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fudge ² American  

[fuhj] / fʌdʒ /

verb (used without object)

fudged, fudging

1. to cheat (often followed byon ).

   How many of you have fudged on your taxes?

2. to fail to fulfill an obligation.

   For a variety of reasons, they had fudged on their promise.

3. to avoid coming to grips with a subject, issue, etc..

   He fudged on the matter of whether he would retire at the end of his three-year term.

4. to tamper with or misrepresent something, as to produce a desired result or allow leeway for error.

   Some of the men and women fudged on their ages.

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verb (used with object)

fudged, fudging

1. to avoid coming to grips with (a subject, issue, etc.); evade; dodge.

   He fudged a few of the direct questions.

2. to tamper with or misrepresent.

   The suggestion is that they simply fudged the figures to make sales look more impressive.

noun

Printing.

1. a small stereotype or a few lines of specially prepared type, bearing a newspaper bulletin, for replacing a detachable part of a page plate without the need to replate the entire page.

2. the bulletin thus printed, often in color.

3. a machine or attachment for printing such a bulletin.

fudge ³ American  

[fuhj] / fʌdʒ /

noun

1. nonsense or foolishness (often used as an interjection).

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verb (used without object)

fudged, fudging

1. to talk nonsense.

fudge ¹ British  

/ fʌdʒ /

noun

1. a small section of type matter in a box in a newspaper allowing late news to be included without the whole page having to be remade

2. the box in which such type matter is placed

3. the late news so inserted

4. a machine attached to a newspaper press for printing this

5. an unsatisfactory compromise reached to evade a difficult problem or controversial issue

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verb

1. (tr) to make or adjust in a false or clumsy way

2. (tr) to misrepresent; falsify

3. to evade (a problem, issue, etc); dodge; avoid

fudge ² British  

/ fʌdʒ /

noun

1. foolishness; nonsense

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interjection

1. a mild exclamation of annoyance

verb

1. (intr) to talk foolishly or emptily

fudge ³ British  

/ fʌdʒ /

noun

1. a soft variously flavoured sweet made from sugar, butter, cream, etc

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Etymology

Origin of fudge¹

An Americanism dating to 1895–1900; of uncertain origin; the word was early in its history associated with female college campuses, where fudge-making was popular; however, attempts to explain it as a derivative of fudge ² ( def. ) (preparing the candy supposedly being an excuse to “fudge” on dormitory rules) are dubious and probably after-the-fact speculation

Origin of fudge²

First recorded in 1665–75; origin uncertain; in earliest sense, “to contrive clumsily,” perhaps expressive variant of fadge “to fit, agree, do” (akin to Middle English feien, Old English fēgan “to fit together, join, bind”); fudge ¹ and fudge ³ are developments of this word or are independent coinages

Origin of fudge³

First recorded in 1690–1700; of uncertain origin; cf. fudge ²

Explanation

Fudge is a rich, chocolate candy made with plenty of sugar, cream, and butter. Fudge is usually cut into squares and eaten in small quantities. While fudge comes in many different flavors, it's usually chocolate. In the US, another kind of fudge is smooth, melted chocolate that can be poured over the top of ice cream. When fudge is a verb, it means to avoid straightforwardly answering a question or addressing a subject: "Just answer my question and don't fudge the issue!" Fudge is an American word from college slang meaning "a made-up story."

Example Sentences

To give a few examples, Salted Fudge is described as “classic, decadent & dominating,” while Maple Bacon is touted as “sweet, smoky & sigma.”

From Salon • May 23, 2026

Bertie Carvel, who has played roles including Tony Blair in The Crown, will be the new Cornelius Fudge.

From BBC • Jun. 9, 2025

“If I could do it today, I would do it,” Fudge, who retired in March, replied.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 8, 2024

A White House official, who asked not to be identified discussing personnel issues, said Ms. Fudge made that commitment at the time but felt compelled to change her mind given her mother’s age.

From New York Times • Mar. 11, 2024

Fudge increased the pressure on Harry’s shoulder, and Harry found himself being steered inside the pub.

From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling

Related Words

• evade
• exaggerate
• falsify
• overstate