pudding

[pood-ing]

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.

pudding

/ 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

Other Word Forms

• puddinglike adjective
• puddingy adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of pudding¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of pudding¹

C13 poding; compare Old English puduc a wart, Low German puddek sausage

Idioms and Phrases

see proof of the pudding.

Example Sentences

A superstar in French cuisine, tonka has also made its fair share of cameos on “Bake Off,” notably in an apricot compote and a mascarpone cream paired with a ginger, fig and honey pudding.

From Salon

"She got the diet just right for Middle England - meat and potatoes, all the greens in the right place. And sponge pudding to follow. It's comfortable and regular. Sometimes you'll even enjoy it."

From BBC

Opened in downtown Savannah, Ga., in 1996, the Lady and Sons boasted a menu of local classics like fried green tomatoes, banana pudding and hoecakes.

From Los Angeles Times

For dessert, there was a plum pudding with a five-cent coin hidden amongst the dried fruit – a nod to the British tradition.

From BBC

Once you break the too-sweet pudding barrier and start experimenting with your own favorite textures and flavors, there’s real potential for dessert glory with zero oven time.

From Salon