obese
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of obese
First recorded in 1645–55; from Latin obēsus, adjective use of past participle of obedere, obesse (unrecorded) “to eat away,” from ob- ob- + edere, esse “to eat” ( see also eat)
Explanation
Obese means excessively fat. In medical terms, it means you have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or more, at which point your body's excess fat begins to threaten your health. In the last third of the 20th century and into the 21st, increasing numbers of Americans are obese, in what health professionals call "an obesity epidemic"; they attribute it to rising portion-sizes, increased consumption of processed food, the demise of family meals, and food marketing, among other factors.
Vocabulary lists containing obese
Burning Blue
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Vocabulary Video Contest (2013) - List 2
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Articles on Nutrition
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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.
By some estimates, as many as 20 million U.S. seniors are overweight or obese.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026
Those who were already recorded as obese were excluded.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
About 75% of Americans were overweight or obese in 2023, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 21, 2026
Around a third of UK adults - more than 16m - are obese.
From BBC ● Jun. 11, 2026
Her avocado skin had a ridged texture like corduroy, her graying hair was shaggy and matted, and her build bordered on obese.
From "Fablehaven" by Brandon Mull
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.
