puppy
Americannoun
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puppies
plural
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a young dog, especially one less than a year old.
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Fox Hunting. a foxhound that has hunted regularly for less than one season.
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pup.
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a presuming, conceited, or empty-headed young man.
noun
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a young dog; pup
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informal a brash or conceited young man; pup
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of puppy
First recorded in 1480–90; earlier popi; see origin at puppet, -y 2
Explanation
A puppy is a baby dog. Unless you're more of a cat person, there's nothing cuter than puppies playing together. When a dog is born, it's a puppy. Puppies, like most mammals, start out very small and quickly grow larger — in fact, some puppies' coats change color as they mature, resulting in a fully grown dog that looks completely different. In the fifteenth century, a puppy was specifically "a woman's small pet dog," from the Middle French poupée, "doll or toy."
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:
For example, the bones of a puppy estimated to have been just 6 to 8 weeks old were discovered alongside an elite craftsperson nicknamed the "Master Basketmaker."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026
The marine ecologist, who is based near Glencoe, has had her dog since she was a puppy and the bond btween the two is strong.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
He just got a golden retriever puppy named Nala, the wife of Simba from “The Lion King.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
The pair hope the third member of their family, a three-month-old puppy Luna, will reappear after going missing during the quake.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
My puppy sniffs her out first, then licks her.
From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas
Its first puppies are expected to be born in the first quarter of 2027.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
"Yet, the distinct dietary patterns of hairless puppies provide insights into what may have been organized breeding."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026
That’s like asking someone if they know that violence is bad, or puppies are cute.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
“And then we’re painted as these puppies that just keep getting beat up. I didn’t want to contribute to that.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
He swooped me upright but kept one arm over my shoulder—they are all like that, those Beaufort-Stuarts, affectionate as puppies, dead casual about it.
From "Code Name Verity" by Elizabeth Wein
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
