pudgier; pudgiest
: being short and plump : chubby
pudginess noun

Examples of pudgy in a Sentence

The baby wrapped her pudgy little hand around my finger.
Recent Examples on the Web Flesh is the key visual subject of the doc, its elemental material, from the pudgy sweetness of a breastfeeding infant to the gleaming, sweating skin of the women’s bodies. Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 27 Nov. 2023 A little bit of the pudgy figure playing Nana trying and failing to remove himself from a dog-door in the Darlings’ flat goes a long way, before someone finally busts out a prop chainsaw. Chris Willman, Variety, 22 Aug. 2023 Soon after Watts moved in, a friendly, slightly pudgy veteran moved into the apartment just below him. Steve Thompson, Washington Post, 8 Aug. 2023 The trail bisected one rock pile occupied by a family of pika, pudgy rabbit relatives who vocalized like squeaky toys. Elaine Glusac, New York Times, 7 Aug. 2023 James Kurisunkal was a pudgy, lonely, Midwestern teen, ostracized by his brown skin — his parents are Indian immigrants — and his homosexuality. Chris Vognar, Rolling Stone, 17 May 2023 The problem began in 2013 during Chinese president Xi Jinping’s state visit to the U.S. to meet with then-president Barack Obama, when a meme likening the pudgy Chinese premier to Pooh and the lanky American leader to Tigger went viral. Alex Ritman, The Hollywood Reporter, 24 Mar. 2023 Charley Hogan is deeply watchable as Benny’s pudgy cousin and guide. Lisa Kennedy, Variety, 24 Mar. 2023 As the New York Daily News put it, in typically breathless style: Khrushy’s burly security chief, Lt. Gen. Nikolai Zakharov, 6-foot-3, 220-pounder, became unaccountably irked with the way the city police were trying to squeeze his pudgy boss through the jampacked lobby. Simon Hall, Smithsonian Magazine, 18 Sep. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'pudgy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

origin unknown

First Known Use

1788, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pudgy was in 1788

Dictionary Entries Near pudgy

Cite this Entry

“Pudgy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pudgy. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

pudgy

adjective
pudgier; pudgiest
: short and plump
pudginess noun

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