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Synonyms

pup

American  
[puhp] / pʌp /

noun

  1. a young dog; puppy.

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

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

verb (used without object)

pupped, pupping

  1. to give birth to pups.

pup British  
/ pʌp /

noun

    1. a young dog, esp when under one year of age; puppy

    2. the young of various other animals, such as the seal

  2. (of a bitch) pregnant

  3. informal a conceited young man (esp in the phrase young pup )

  4. to swindle someone by selling him something worthless

  5. slang it's early yet

"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

verb

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

"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

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."

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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.

When a pup strands on the Central California coast, federal and state wildlife officials respond to assess whether it is truly orphaned, said Brett Long, the Long Beach aquarium’s vice president of animal care.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 29, 2026

She describes Fillmore as an extremely smart pup, well-trained and a hunter by nature.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 17, 2026

As a pup, the four-legged hero's boundless energy made it tough to stay indoors, but he found his true potential in the bush.

From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026

Miranda, 42, said she could not believe her eyes when "pup after pup kept appearing", adding: "We thought it would never stop."

From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026

And right in there, romping with him, was that bread-stealing speckled pup.

From "Old Yeller" by Fred Gipson

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.