pamper
Americanverb (used with object)
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pampers,
present (3rd person singular)
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pampered,
past participle, past
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pampering
present participle
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to treat or gratify with extreme or excessive indulgence, kindness, or care.
to pamper a child; to pamper one's stomach.
- Antonyms:
- discipline
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Archaic. to overfeed, especially with very rich food; glut.
verb
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to treat with affectionate and usually excessive indulgence; coddle; spoil
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archaic to feed to excess
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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pamperednessnoun
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pamperernoun
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overpamperverb (used with object)
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self-pamperedadjective
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self-pamperingadjective
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unpamperedadjective
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pamperedlyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pampersimple
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pamperssimple
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have pamperedperfect
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has pamperedperfect
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am pamperingprogressive
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are pamperingprogressive
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is pamperingprogressive
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have been pamperingperfect progressive
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has been pamperingperfect progressive
Past
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pamperedsimple
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had pamperedperfect
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was pamperingprogressive
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were pamperingprogressive
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had been pamperingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pamper
1350–1400; Middle English pamperen < Middle Dutch; compare Dutch dialect pamperen
Explanation
When you pamper your dog, you spoil him. You might pamper him by feeding him cubes of cheese and knitting him a little sweater and letting him sleep in your bed under the covers. Some people love to pamper their pets, cooking them special food and buying them expensive collars and toys. To pamper goes beyond kind treatment, bordering on overindulgence or coddling. People also like to pamper themselves from time to time, getting a massage or a manicure, or otherwise being treated indulgently. The word pamper originally meant "to cram with food," most likely from a Middle Dutch root meaning "to cram."
Vocabulary lists containing pamper
Bronx Masquerade
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Baseball in April
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How Dare the Sun Rise
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
As you might expect, the Grand Highlander’s cabin aims to please, pamper and placate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 4, 2025
Alongside the trophy, Muppet was presented with a pamper session at a luxury doggie spa that included a mud bath followed by a Christmas-themed photoshoot.
From BBC ● Dec. 13, 2024
The largest, which rents for $1,500 an hour, boasts heated marble floors, king- and queen-size beds, and “premium linens and towels to pamper the most discerning,” a charter listing says.
From Seattle Times ● Sep. 26, 2023
As has often been reported, current A.I. software has a tendency to pamper its users, to supply whatever answers they seem to be seeking.
From Slate ● Sep. 26, 2023
It survives a kind of life where pamper is a noun, not a verb.
From "Bronx Masquerade" by Nikki Grimes
“People were looking for pampers and could not find them,” she said from the whirring workshop in Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza.
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 16, 2024
Best extras: The limited edition release completely pampers hardcore fans with an abundance of both digital and hard copy goodies.
From Washington Times ● Oct. 2, 2021
The sanctions include a more explicit ban on the sale of luxury goods, with which the regime pampers its senior officials: no more snowmobiles or fancy watches.
From Economist ● Mar. 3, 2016
Neither college tries to compete with the big-time football foundries in recruiting high-school stars; neither pampers its athletes with snap courses or "laundry money."
From Time Magazine Archive
He and his second wife, June, live in Wyckoff, a New Jersey suburb where he pampers fig trees and dutifully looks after a bird feeder shaped like the Parthenon.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
Yet pampered employees come at a cost that not everyone is willing to bear.
From Barron's ● May 20, 2026
I left feeling completely pampered and ready for a nap.
From Salon ● Mar. 7, 2026
“I know you’re in Heaven being pampered with love. The Van Der Beeks will be in our daily prayers and we’ll be drumming up some money to support your beautiful family,” Hauser wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 11, 2026
That doesn’t mean central bankers should be treated as pampered princes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 30, 2026
He would let thee starve and pine — A callow,^ shallow, pampered youth.
From "Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village" by Laura Amy Schlitz
Roman Ivannikov has spent around 30 years pampering orchids, azaleas and figs at Ukraine's National Botanical Garden, but power cuts triggered by Russian strikes are threatening to freeze his cherished collection of tropical plants.
From Barron's ● Feb. 12, 2026
They work 24/7 at high speeds and get searingly hot - but data centre computer chips get plenty of pampering.
From BBC ● Dec. 22, 2025
“We are not in the business of pampering students. We are in the business of preparing our students.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025
On the pampering end, dog spas and private practitioners offer massage, reiki meditation, inflammation-fighting red light therapy and skin and nail treatments, such as deluxe “pawdicures.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2025
Someone less original than Clara would have tired of her sister-in-law’s excessive pampering and constant worry, or have succumbed to her domineering and meticulous nature.
From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
