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 comedian and her wife had adopted a puppy, a chocolate-brown poodle named Mrs. Wallis Browning.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
For example, the bones of a puppy estimated to have been just 6 to 8 weeks old were discovered alongside an elite craftsperson nicknamed the "Master Basketmaker."
From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026
The marine ecologist, who is based near Glencoe, has had her dog since she was a puppy and the bond btween the two is strong.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Sometimes they say it “slipped the leash” like a puppy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 17, 2026
"I told you I didn't mean to take the puppy!"
From "Case of the Sneaky Snowman: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #5" by Carolyn Keene
Traveling with trees is a bit like traveling with puppies, minus the poop bags.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026
The findings raise the possibility that some puppies received particular attention or were raised under controlled conditions, potentially as part of an organized breeding practice.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026
That’s like asking someone if they know that violence is bad, or puppies are cute.
From Salon ● Oct. 11, 2026
“And then we’re painted as these puppies that just keep getting beat up. I didn’t want to contribute to that.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 18, 2026
“You want to save puppies and use math?”
From "The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl" by Stacy McAnulty
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
