pudgy
Americanadjective
adjective
Other Word Forms
- pudgily adverb
- pudginess noun
Etymology
Origin of pudgy
First recorded in 1830–40; origin uncertain
Explanation
To be pudgy is to be chubby and short. Baby piglets are sometimes pudgy, but not the runts. Pudgy can describe body parts, too, like a baby’s pudgy cheeks. When you're pudgy, you're a little overweight and short. Many children are pudgy, though they usually outgrow the baby fat. Being pudgy is often associated with being cute. For example, bulldogs and pugs are pudgy dogs — they have squat, round bodies that are adorable.
Vocabulary lists containing pudgy
Ghost Boys
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Red Kayak
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Lucky Broken Girl
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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.
The slightly pudgy version who arrived in Los Angeles last year was already a superstar.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 11, 2025
Tom Brandis is a rumpled, pudgy wreck, an ex-priest who no longer believes in God and can’t absolve his son of a sin that shattered their family.
From Salon • Oct. 6, 2025
Kissinger was pudgy and messy but incongruously acquired a reputation as a ladies’ man in the staid Nixon administration.
From Seattle Times • Nov. 29, 2023
It took off a decade ago, when Chinese internet users likened Xi to a pudgy Pooh and President Barack Obama to a lanky Tigger.
From Washington Post • Apr. 11, 2023
He leaned nearer and peered at me through the two blanketed mounds of his pudgy legs.
From "Secrets at Sea" by Richard Peck
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.
