tubby

American  

[tuhb-ee] / ˈtʌb i /

adjective

tubbier, tubbiest

1. short and fat.

   a tubby child.

2. having a dull, thumping sound; lacking resonance.

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tubby British  

/ ˈtʌbɪ /

adjective

1. plump

2. shaped like a tub

3. rare having little resonance

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Other Word Forms

• tubbiness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of tubby

First recorded in 1800–10; tub + -y ¹

Explanation

To be tubby is to be round and plump, and maybe a bit on the short side. Many cartoon characters, including Porky Pig, Garfield, and Homer Simpson, are a little tubby. The informal noun tubby is usually used to describe a person, and as a result it's almost always offensive — it's just generally bad form to comment on the shape of someone's body! You might, however, describe your plump little kitten as tubby or mold a tubby figure out of clay. Tubby, thought to come from "shaped like a tub," has been in use since the 1890s.

Example Sentences

"The town of Soham doesn't like media attention. It was inundated by press at the time," Tubby explains.

From BBC • Mar. 7, 2026

"You might be able to see a boy who's actually stuck on the sand bar out several metres away from me," said Tubby, live on air.

From BBC • Jun. 27, 2025

On a recent weekday, a day after flying home, Donohue slapped a $100 bill on the bar at the Tubby Hook Tavern in Inwood, his buddy Rick Duggan, 74, sitting beside him.

From New York Times • Sep. 27, 2022

Kentucky hosts Tubby Smith-led High Point on Friday in a non-conference game where the former Wildcats coach will have his name placed among the Rupp Arena rafters.

From Seattle Times • Dec. 29, 2021

I tell him about the Save the Manatee Club, and the sea cow named Tubby that our class adopted last year.

From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina