puppy
Americannoun
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puppies
plural
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a young dog, especially one less than a year old.
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Fox Hunting. a foxhound that has hunted regularly for less than one season.
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pup.
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a presuming, conceited, or empty-headed young man.
noun
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a young dog; pup
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informal a brash or conceited young man; pup
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of puppy
First recorded in 1480–90; earlier popi; see origin at puppet, -y 2
Explanation
A puppy is a baby dog. Unless you're more of a cat person, there's nothing cuter than puppies playing together. When a dog is born, it's a puppy. Puppies, like most mammals, start out very small and quickly grow larger — in fact, some puppies' coats change color as they mature, resulting in a fully grown dog that looks completely different. In the fifteenth century, a puppy was specifically "a woman's small pet dog," from the Middle French poupée, "doll or toy."
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.
See Examples For:
The pair hope the third member of their family, a three-month-old puppy Luna, will reappear after going missing during the quake.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
“With ‘Bluey,’ I’ve teared up if the right episode hit me at the right time,” said the Los Angeles dad of the animated blue puppy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Tomas Antonic said Kiki loved leaning into him and showing him her "big brown puppy eyes"
From BBC ● Jun. 28, 2026
Of course, there was also Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, standing nearby bouncing up and down like a puppy happy to be on stage with his master.
From Salon ● Jun. 19, 2026
At that moment the puppy let out a loud, happy bark.
From "Mystery Map (The Hardy Boys: Secret Files, #3)" by Franklin W. Dixon
Should Swift’s dog inspire a true rush on Samoyed puppies, the breed would not be the first to gain popularity thanks to its celebrity associations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
They selected promising puppies and may sometimes have bred dogs with wild canids to reinforce particular characteristics.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 10, 2026
Thirteen of the 14 dogs seized by the Newport Beach Beach Animal Control were puppies, including two 6-week-old golden retriever puppies that were in critical condition because of untreated parasites.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
Police said they wanted to join in the feel-good atmosphere surrounding the tournament, adding the puppies were chasing the "ulti-mutt dream of becoming champions".
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
They got some barbecue from Mr. James, petted some puppies at Dr. Medina’s.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
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.
