puppy

American  

[puhp-ee] / ˈpʌp i /

noun

plural

puppies

1. a young dog, especially one less than a year old.

2. Fox Hunting. a foxhound that has hunted regularly for less than one season.

3. pup.

4. a presuming, conceited, or empty-headed young man.

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puppy British  

/ ˈpʌpɪ /

noun

1. a young dog; pup

2. informal a brash or conceited young man; pup

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Other Word Forms

• puppydom noun
• puppyhood noun
• puppyish adjective
• puppylike adjective

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

Video from inside the animal urgent care shows the tiny puppy sitting outside the entrance and jumping up on the door before staff members spotted it at 4:11 a.m.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 14, 2026

While Woody wears goggles when he is working, he also has uniform-free downtime to be the puppy he still is.

From BBC • Mar. 22, 2026

The Walt Disney Co. first teased that the Blue Heeler puppy and her younger sister Bingo would be coming to the Anaheim theme park in 2024.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 22, 2026

A Claude-based agent books her airline tickets and hotels, and she recently built another to help with her new German shepherd puppy.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 19, 2026

“I get it. But what I don’t get is how getting a puppy means the rest of your life stops.”

From "Red Flags and Butterflies" by Sheryl Azzam

Related Words

• dog
• pup
• whelp