pudding

American  

[pood-ing] / ˈpʊd ɪŋ /

noun

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

• puddinglike adjective
• puddingy adjective

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

Example Sentences

It makes customizable Bundt cakes in a range of sizes and flavors including red velvet, confetti and banana pudding cake.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

McIlroy called his choice of sticky toffee pudding a "crowd pleaser" but said he had had most fun selecting the wine.

From BBC • Mar. 18, 2026

Menu items range from $1.19 for the soft serve to $4.99 for its “super-triple” milk tea with tapioca pearls, pudding and coconut jelly toppings.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 24, 2026

“They add a great texture that is sippable and can be used in pudding form,” Rajendran says.

From Salon • Jan. 17, 2026

Most Haft-Seens have vinegar and sumac and sprouts and apples and pudding and dried olives and garlic on them—all things that start with the sound of S in Farsi.

From "Darius the Great Is Not Okay" by Adib Khorram