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

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

For sides, Garten suggests her Leek and Artichoke Bread Pudding and Make-Ahead Goat Cheese Mashed Potatoes, which can be covered and refrigerated for up to two days, then baked before Thanksgiving day.

From Salon • Nov. 18, 2025

“With experience as both superhero and supervillain, Barry Keoghan is the perfect choice to fight to earn his Pudding pot,” Man of the Year Coordinator Aidan Golub said.

From Seattle Times • Jan. 27, 2024

After the hike in Los Angeles, the group gathered around a picnic table, where Adrien Cohen, 32, who recently founded a Blueprint-based meal prep start-up, distributed containers of Nutty Pudding and Super Veggie.

From New York Times • Jan. 12, 2024

The fire, which began in Thomas Farriner's property in Pudding Lane on 2 September 1666, lasted for four days and destroyed much of the capital.

From BBC • Sep. 1, 2023

There are shelves of alphabet spaghetti, Pedigree Chum, and Ambrosia Rice Pudding.

From "Black Swan Green" by David Mitchell