pudding

American  

[pood-ing] / ˈpʊd ɪŋ /

noun

puddings plural

1. a thick, soft dessert, typically containing flour or some other thickener, milk, eggs, a flavoring, and sweetener.

   tapioca pudding.

2. a similar dish unsweetened and served with or as a main dish.

   corn pudding.

3. British. the dessert course of a meal.

4. Nautical. a pad or fender for preventing scraping or chafing or for lessening shock between vessels or other objects.

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pudding British  

/ ˈpʊdɪŋ /

noun

1. a sweetened usually cooked dessert made in many forms and of various ingredients, such as flour, milk, and eggs, with fruit, etc

2. a savoury dish, usually soft and consisting partially of pastry or batter

   steak-and-kidney pudding

3. the dessert course in a meal

4. a sausage-like mass of seasoned minced meat, oatmeal, etc, stuffed into a prepared skin or bag and boiled

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pudding Idioms  

1. see proof of the pudding.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• puddinglike
  adjective
• puddingy
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• puddings
  plural

Etymology

Origin of pudding

1275–1325; Middle English poding kind of sausage; compare Old English puduc wen, sore (perhaps originally swelling), Low German puddewurst black pudding

Explanation

Pudding is a sweet, creamy dessert that you eat with a spoon. The song “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” implores someone to “bring us some figgy pudding,” but chocolate or vanilla would be much easier to find. Most pudding is made with milk, sugar, and flavoring with a thickening agent like cornstarch. Your favorite might be dark chocolate, butterscotch, or rice pudding. These are delicious, smooth, and usually served cold. In Britain, pudding simply means "dessert," but in North America pudding is a specific kind of after-dinner treat. Back in the 1300s, pudding had a different meaning: "a kind of sausage." You can still get that kind of blood pudding in England. If you must.

Example Sentences

That’s probably overegging the pudding — I’d be surprised if that many attendees signed on the dotted line — but in the end, it’s a numbers game.

From MarketWatch • Jul. 6, 2026

As to the trickery itself, the proof is in the pudding.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 30, 2026

An army of servers brings out platters with choucroute, then Alsace cheeses and the traditional kougelhopf pudding.

From BBC • Jun. 6, 2026

Bread pudding is essentially a blank canvas for whatever bits and bobs are floating around your kitchen waiting for purpose.

From Salon • May 25, 2026

He makes saffron rice pudding, stirring patiently, pulling the pot from the fire with a troubadour’s timing.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri