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fudge

1
[ fuhj ]
/ fʌdʒ /
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noun
a soft candy made of sugar, butter, milk, chocolate, and sometimes nuts.
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Origin of fudge

1
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 fudge2 (preparing the candy supposedly being an excuse to “fudge” on dormitory rules) are dubious and probably after-the-fact speculation

Other definitions for fudge (2 of 3)

fudge2
[ fuhj ]
/ fʌdʒ /

verb (used without object), fudged, fudg·ing.
verb (used with object), fudged, fudg·ing.
to avoid coming to grips with (a subject, issue, etc.); evade; dodge: He fudged a few of the direct questions.
to tamper with or misrepresent: The suggestion is that they simply fudged the figures to make sales look more impressive.
noun Printing.

Origin of fudge

2
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”); fudge1 and fudge3 are developments of this word or are independent coinages

Other definitions for fudge (3 of 3)

fudge3
[ fuhj ]
/ fʌdʒ /

noun
nonsense or foolishness (often used as an interjection).
verb (used without object), fudged, fudg·ing.
to talk nonsense.

Origin of fudge

3
First recorded in 1690–1700; of uncertain origin; cf. fudge2
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use fudge in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for fudge (1 of 3)

fudge1
/ (fʌdʒ) /

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

Word Origin for fudge

C19: of unknown origin

British Dictionary definitions for fudge (2 of 3)

fudge2
/ (fʌdʒ) /

noun
foolishness; nonsense
interjection
a mild exclamation of annoyance
verb
(intr) to talk foolishly or emptily

Word Origin for fudge

C18: of uncertain origin

British Dictionary definitions for fudge (3 of 3)

fudge3
/ (fʌdʒ) /

noun
verb

Word Origin for fudge

C19: see fadge
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
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