# fat

Pronunciation: say "FAT" /fæt/

## Noun

1. A lipid found in body tissue, the bloodstream, and foods, which may be solid or liquid at room temperature, or a manufactured substance chemically resembling such lipids.
   - Simple: A greasy or oily substance found in the body and in many foods, which can be solid or liquid.
   - _Doctors often advise replacing some of the saturated fats in your diet with the unsaturated fats found in nuts, fish, and olive oil._
   - _Margarine is a manufactured fat made to look, spread, and taste much like butter._
2. Soft tissue under the skin and around organs that stores energy, including the fatty parts of meat eaten as food.
   - Simple: Soft tissue in a body that stores energy, including the fatty parts of meat.
   - _During hibernation, a bear lives off the fat it built up before winter._
   - _Excess energy from food is stored throughout the body as fat._
8. A derogatory term for a person regarded as overweight. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: An unkind, rude word for a person who is fat.
   - _The online forum was full of people sneering at fats, so she finally deleted her account._
   - _The coach was fired after a recording caught him dismissing his heavier players as a bunch of lazy fats._
9. The portion of an organization regarded as wasteful and worth cutting.
   - Simple: The wasteful parts of a company that can be cut to save money.
   - _The board ordered the company to trim the fat and reduce costs._
   - _Years of easy growth had left a lot of fat in the organization._
10. The richest or best part of something; its choicest portion.
   - Simple: The best and richest part of something.
   - _After years of hard work on the farm, the family finally got to live off the fat of the land._
   - _Courtiers enjoyed the fat of the kingdom while the soldiers went unpaid._
15. An erection of the penis. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A man's erection.
   - _Every teenage boy dreads cracking a fat in class just as the teacher calls him up to the board._
   - _Sitting next to his crush on the bus, he prayed he wouldn't crack a fat before their stop._

## Adjective

3. Carrying more fat on the body than usual; plump rather than lean or thin.
   - Simple: Having more body weight than is normal, looking round and heavy rather than thin.
   - _The vet warned that the dog was getting too fat for its breed._
   - _She had always been a little fat, and felt comfortable that way._
4. Thick, wide, or full and rounded; bigger in bulk than usual.
   - Simple: Thick or wide, or round and full, like a fat book or a fat vase.
   - _He handed over a fat folder stuffed with documents._
   - _The plumber fitted a fat pipe beneath the sink._
5. Great or substantial, used as an intensifier; in phrases such as fat chance and a fat lot, used ironically to mean very little or none. *(slang)*
   - Simple: Very great or real. In 'fat chance' and 'a fat lot' it means the opposite, very little or none.
   - _Fat chance the landlord fixes the heater before winter._
   - _A fat lot he cares about anyone's feelings but his own._
7. Oily, greasy, and rich, as food can be.
   - Simple: Full of oil or grease, rich and heavy to eat.
   - _The old recipe calls for fat pork, simmered with the beans for hours until the whole pot turns rich and glossy._
   - _A fat, oily broth simmered on the stove._
6. Bringing in or having a lot of money; lucrative or prosperous.
   - Simple: Making or having a lot of money, like a fat paycheck.
   - _Investors chased the fat returns the fund promised._
   - _He retired on a fat pension after thirty years._
11. Of an acting role, significant and substantial, offering the performer a lot to work with.
   - Simple: A big and important acting part with lots to do.
   - _The script gave the lead a fat role full of emotional range._
   - _He turned down a small part, holding out for something fatter._
12. Carrying additional data or functionality, beyond a basic version.
   - Simple: Carrying extra data or built-in features.
   - _A fat client handles much of the processing itself._
   - _The team built a fat binary that runs on both chip types._
13. Another spelling of phat: excellent, cool or very good. *(slang)* — Alternative form of phat.
   - Simple: Another spelling of phat: a slang word meaning great, cool or excellent.
   - _Getting backstage passes to see our favorite band was so fat that we bragged about it for weeks._
   - _The beats on that mixtape were straight-up fat, and everyone in the car was nodding along._
14. Plentiful or richly productive, as a harvest or fertile land.
   - Simple: Producing a lot, like a big harvest or rich farmland.
   - _A fat harvest filled the barns to the roof._
   - _They stored grain through the fat seasons for harder days._

## Adjective

16. Showing the qualities of a fat animal; coarse, heavy, dull, and stupid. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: Slow, dull, and stupid, like a heavy, lazy animal.
18. In printing, designating typesetting work that contains much blank space, cuts, or extra leads, and so earns the compositor good wages. *(dated)*
   - Simple: In old-time printing, describing work with lots of blank space that paid the worker well.

## Verb

17. To become fat, or to make an animal fat; to fatten. *(archaic)*
   - Simple: To get fatter, or to feed an animal so it gets fatter.
   - _Medieval swineherds drove their pigs into the oak woods each autumn to fat on fallen acorns._
   - _In many farming villages, a fatted pig was kept for the winter feast and fed on scraps and grain for months beforehand._

## Noun

19. In typesetting, work containing much blank space or its equivalent, and so profitable for the compositor. *(dated)*
   - Simple: In old-time printing, work with lots of blank space that earned the worker good money.
20. A cistern, tub, or other large vessel used to hold water, wine, or similar liquids. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A big tub or container for holding water, wine, or other liquids.
21. An old unit of dry measure, generally reckoned equal to nine bushels. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: An old measure for dry goods, usually equal to nine bushels.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To strike a golf ball with a fat shot, catching the ground before the ball and losing distance.
- (adjective) Of a golf shot, being one in which the club strikes the ground before making contact with the ball.
- (noun) A poorly struck golf shot in which the club digs into the ground before making contact with the ball.
- (noun) A beef animal raised and fattened ready to be sold.

## Origin

**Meanings 3–7, 11–14, 16, 18** — Proto-West Germanic *fait ("fat") gave the verb *faitijan ("to make fat"). Its past participle *faitid ("fatted") became Old English fǣtt ("fatted, fat") and then Middle English fat.
**Meanings 1–2, 8–10, 15, 17, 19** — The noun grew out of the adjective in Middle English, where it was spelled fat, with a possible contribution from Old English fǣt ("fat"), a word found in only one record. Proto-West Germanic *fait and, before it, Proto-Germanic *faitą, *faitaz ("fat") lie behind that Old English word.
**Meanings 20–21** — Proto-Indo-European *pod- ("vessel") led to Proto-Germanic *fatą ("vessel") and Old English fæt, meaning "vat, vessel, jar, cup," which became Middle English fat. Dutch vat ("barrel, vessel") and German Fass ("barrel") are related.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/fat (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).