Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

fatty

1 American  
[fat-ee] / ˈfæt i /

adjective

  • fattier,
    comparative
  • fattiest
    superlative
  1. consisting of, containing, or resembling fat.

    fatty tissue.

  2. Pathology. characterized by overproduction or excessive accumulation of fat.


fatty 2 American  
[fat-ee] / ˈfæt i /

noun

Informal.
  • fatties
    plural
  1. Disparaging and Offensive. a person who is overweight or obese (sometimes used as a term of address).

  2. a large marijuana cigarette, often shared and consumed by a group, with a shape and size similar to a cigar.


fatty British  
/ ˈfætɪ /

adjective

  1. containing, consisting of, or derived from fat

  2. having the properties of fat; greasy; oily

  3. (esp of tissues, organs, etc) characterized by the excessive accumulation of fat

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

noun

  1. informal a fat person

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Adjectives

Etymology

Origin of fatty1

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; see origin at fat, -y 1

Origin of fatty2

First recorded in 1790–1800 fatty 2 ( def. 1 ); 2003 fatty 2 ( def. 2 ); see origin at fat, -y 2

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:

Each cat had a BFA profile defined by the combination and relative abundance of the different fatty acids.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

Their experiments point to a group of unusual fatty acids that could serve as a lasting chemical signature in cat urine.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 20, 2026

Long used for weight loss and diabetes, the Food and Drug Administration has approved certain GLP-1s for additional uses, including obstructive sleep apnea, chronic kidney disease and severe fatty liver disease.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026

But other drugs in Roche’s pipeline such as enicepatide for obesity, pegozafermin for fatty liver disease and fenebrutinib for multiple sclerosis could see upgrades to consensus expectations, they add.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026

She wore the fatty suit home one Christmas, and our father met us at the Raleigh airport.

From "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris

I’d probably be considered a bad fatty and so would a lot of other fatties I know.

From Time ● Jan. 5, 2015

And I know it's a morality tale like Shockheaded Peter, but those children were bullies and pyromaniacs, not shy fatties.

From The Guardian ● Jun. 26, 2013

Pigeons don’t migrate, though, and despite their seasonal weight gain, birds tend not to be among the world’s top fatties.

From Slate ● Apr. 18, 2012

“No. They’re sports stars, actors, artists. The men with stringy hair are musicians, I think. The really ugly ones are politicians, and someone told me the fatties are mostly comedians.”

From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld

Say, all the fifty-seven varieties was represented,—tall ones, short ones, thin ones,219 plump ones, and plain fatties.

From Torchy by George Brehm

It could be that processing the ground pork patties, which involved grinding the meat and adding the fattier meat to the lean, affected the kinetics of digestion.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 15, 2025

“Oils are added to products to help create a creamier, fattier flavor profile,” she says.

From Seattle Times ● May 2, 2024

They often import lean beef from countries such as Australia and New Zealand to blend with fattier U.S. supplies to make hamburgers.

From Reuters ● Nov. 10, 2023

They also pushed for more lean cuts of meat, specifically chops and tenderloins, which, in turn, caused the price of fattier cuts to drop significantly.

From Salon ● Jan. 31, 2023

He can never more be in danger, unless he suffers fatty degeneration of the heart or fattier degeneration of the head.

From Comic Bible Sketches Reprinted from "The Freethinker" by G. W. (George William) Foote

The brain is the body's fattiest organ, with fatty compounds called lipids making up 60% of its weight.

From Science Daily ● Feb. 5, 2024

Many people nowadays shy from eating pork, especially the fattiest parts, but it serves as the base and the literal meat and bones of Hoppin’ John.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 23, 2022

Cold water produces the biggest, fattiest varieties of zooplankton.

From Washington Times ● Jan. 15, 2020

A lumbering, chunky beast clad in a sheep-like coat of hair, it is the hairiest and fattiest of pigs.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 27, 2019

Forage fish feed on zooplankton, and cold water produces the biggest, fattiest versions, said Shannon Atkinson, a physiologist and researcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

From Seattle Times ● Feb. 10, 2017

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Just like flashcards, but way more fun

Don't take our word for it. Leave the boring studying behind and join VocabTrainer today. You'll learn even faster and never look back.

Take me to Vocabulary.com