pamper
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to treat or gratify with extreme or excessive indulgence, kindness, or care.
to pamper a child; to pamper one's stomach.
- Antonyms:
- discipline
-
Archaic. to overfeed, especially with very rich food; glut.
verb
-
to treat with affectionate and usually excessive indulgence; coddle; spoil
-
archaic to feed to excess
Other Word Forms
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
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Baseball in April
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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.
While groundskeepers in Europe can pamper pitches until they look like Augusta National, all of the U.S. stadiums hosting World Cup matches are designed for American football, which typically features artificial turf.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 27, 2025
“There’s a reason we pamper our garden plants,” Herrera says.
From Seattle Times • May 17, 2024
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
Mo even shared a few Brit secrets about the backstage "pamper room" with Newsbeat.
From BBC • Feb. 9, 2023
He was quite outspoken in his belief that it was a mistake for guides to pamper their clients.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
