paunchy
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of paunchy
Explanation
Someone who's paunchy has a round belly. If you're more paunchy than you used to be, you might want to invest in slightly larger, more comfortable clothes. This adjective is often used in a mildly derogatory way, to describe someone who carries a bit of extra weight around their middle. Has your vet put your dog on a diet? It might be because she's gotten a little paunchy. The word comes from paunch, "round stomach," from a root that simply means "belly or stomach."
Vocabulary lists containing paunchy
"Rosa Parks" by Nikki Giovanni
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Dear Justyce
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
"The Silent Season of a Hero" by Gay Talese
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Suddenly, your good time is interrupted by an elder pulling you aside and pushing you toward a paunchy, bespectacled sack lurking in a corner.
From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026
At exercise time, a crowd gathered in the prison yard -- young and old, slender and paunchy, all with shaved heads.
From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026
The Sycamores were the No. 1 seed in the NIT and drew a national following drawn in by the paunchy goggles-wearing leading scorer Robbie Avila, nicknamed “Cream Abdul-Jabbar.”
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 6, 2024
Driver, paunchy and swaybacked, is the very model of a modern middle-aged professor, his intellectual curiosity muffled by a certain complacency.
From New York Times ● Nov. 23, 2022
One of them, a big, paunchy man, has a cigar, unlit, in his mouth.
From "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman
At about the halfway mark, “The Disciple” flashes forward several years to find an older, paunchier, more cynical Sharad still plugging away, now balancing equally unfulfilling careers as a music teacher and occasional performer.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 5, 2021
Paul Shipman, Redhook’s founding CEO — grayer and paunchier now, but still boyish and ebullient — regales one booth with now-they-can-be-told tales from the early days.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 12, 2017
At 68, he may be grayer and paunchier, but the image he projects — that assured, steely intellect wrapped in that warm Tennessee drawl — seems all the more indelible and authoritative.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 20, 2017
Like many of Detroit's muscle cars, though, Camaro was doomed by paunchier styling and performance over the years, and the car's blue-collar fans drifted away to pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles.
From Time Magazine Archive
Trey met her at six, and he was paunchier than she’d remembered, his high school brawn run to a little fat.
From Someone Comes to Town, Someone Leaves Town by Doctorow, Cory
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.
