pup
Americannoun
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a young dog; puppy.
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the young of certain other animals, as the rat, shark, or fur seal.
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a small plant developing as an offshoot from a mature plant.
verb (used without object)
noun
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a young dog, esp when under one year of age; puppy
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the young of various other animals, such as the seal
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(of a bitch) pregnant
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informal a conceited young man (esp in the phrase young pup )
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to swindle someone by selling him something worthless
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slang it's early yet
verb
Other Word Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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pupsimple
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pupssimple
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have puppedperfect
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has puppedperfect
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am puppingprogressive
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are puppingprogressive
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is puppingprogressive
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have been puppingperfect progressive
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has been puppingperfect progressive
Past
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puppedsimple
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had puppedperfect
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was puppingprogressive
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were puppingprogressive
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had been puppingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of pup
First recorded in 1580–90; shortened variant of puppy
Explanation
Even though you probably think of a young, cuddly dog when you hear the word pup, a pup is the correct name for the young of many different mammals (even the not-so-cuddly porcupine!). When your dog has babies, they're pups, and the same is true of baby wolves. What's more surprising is that so are the baby anteaters in the zoo, as well as the offspring of sea lions, gerbils, and mongooses, among others. Sometimes this noun is also used to mean a young person who's particularly naive or arrogant. Pup comes from puppy, from the Middle French poupée, "doll."
Vocabulary lists containing pup
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.
Clover, who is of above-average intelligence and can—not to boast—twirl, kiss, cuddle, speak, “inside speak,” and perform most of the standard pup party tricks, struggled with it even after a week of dedicated training.
From Slate • Jun. 20, 2026
More research conducted this January confirmed bird flu had mainly hit southern elephant seal pup populations with a smaller impact on king and gentoo penguins.
From BBC • Jun. 18, 2026
She pointed out one pup with a piece of trash encircling its neck.
From Slate • May 27, 2026
She was found stranded as a days-old pup in July 2023 and spent time with another facility before arriving at the Aquarium of the Pacific in March 2026, according to the aquarium.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026
Boy pup and bridges falling and leaky pipe and brother in suffering and Hildy, my HiIdy.
From "The Knife of Never Letting Go" by Patrick Ness
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.
