pup

[ puhp ]

/ pʌp /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pup ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a young dog; puppy.

the young of certain other animals, as the rat or fur seal.

a small plant developing as an offshoot from a mature plant.

verb (used without object), pupped, pup·ping.

to give birth to pups.

Nearby words

Origin of pup

First recorded in 1580–90; apocopated variant of puppy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pup

You can even compare your pup to other similar breeds to offer an understanding of where your dog falls on the activity spectrum.
Fitness Gadgets … for Your Dog|Megan Humphreys|February 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Has your pup suddenly become more lethargic in your absence?
Fitness Gadgets … for Your Dog|Megan Humphreys|February 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Who really owns a dog, if no official paperwork is signed as the pup gets transferred from one person to the next?
Dog Fight Over Obie, the Dieting Dachshund|Winston Ross|November 4, 2012|DAILY BEAST
Walking their pup Lupo in Kensington Park is an almost daily occurrence when they are in London.
William at Thirty|Tom Sykes|June 21, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Designer Simon Spurr brought along his hulking, 90-pound pup Apollo.
Fashion Free for All|The Daily Beast|September 11, 2010|DAILY BEAST
With the clumsy nimbleness and innocent love of play of a Newfoundland pup, she flung out her enormous feet in the dance.
Aurora the Magnificent|Gertrude Hall
Only the pup's heads appeared, a string round the neck keeping them in; “but they looks like dogs too, don't they?”
Australia Twice Traversed, The Romance of Exploration|Ernest Giles
It is a very bad plan to let a pup play with a Rat too much, for this causes the pup never to put a hard mouth on the Rat.
Full Revelations of a Professional Rat-catcher|Ike Matthews
We heard a pup yelp, an' after a while Kaiser Bill come sneakin' back.
Tales of lonely trails|Zane Grey
But I failed to find on subsequent visits that they had returned the pup.
In the Open|Stanton Davis Kirkham

British Dictionary definitions for pup

pup

/ (pʌp) /

noun

a young dog, esp when under one year of age; puppy
the young of various other animals, such as the seal

in pup (of a bitch) pregnant

informal, mainly British derogatory a conceited young man (esp in the phrase young pup)

sell someone a pup to swindle someone by selling him something worthless

the night's a pup Australian slang it's early yet

verb pups, pupping or pupped

(of dogs, seals, etc) to give birth to (young)

Word Origin for pup

C18: back formation from puppy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for pup

pup

"young dog," 1760, shortened form of puppy (q.v.). Used from 1580s for "conceited person." Applied to the young of the fur seal from 1815. Used for "inexperienced person" by 1890. Pup tent (also dog tent) is from 1863. Sopwith pup, popular name of the Sopwith Scout Tractor airplane, is from 1917.