pudding

noun

PUUD-ing/ˈpʊd.ɪŋ/

Pluralpuddings

10 meanings of pudding

Practice

1
nouncountable or uncountable
A sweet, soft dessert with a texture like custard, thickened using starch.
Like a soft, creamy snack that wobbles a little when you shake the bowl.
The kids had chocolate pudding for dessert.
She made a bowl of vanilla pudding after dinner.
2
nouncountable or uncountable
A sweet cake or dessert that is cooked by boiling or steaming.
Like a soft cake cooked in steam instead of in an oven.
Grandma steamed a sticky pudding for the holiday meal.
They served warm pudding with a spoonful of cream.
3
nounAustraliaNew ZealandUKuncountable
The sweet course at the end of a meal.
Like the sweet treat you get after eating your dinner.
"We've got apple crumble for pudding," she said.
After the main course, the children asked what was for pudding.
Similardessert, sweet, afters, pud
Note
4
nouncountable or uncountable
Any dish, sweet or not sweet, made by boiling, steaming, or from batter.
Like a cooked dish that can be either a sweet treat or a meaty meal.
The cook steamed a meat pudding for dinner.
They poured batter into the pan to make a pudding.
Note
5
nouncountable or uncountable
A sausage made mostly from blood.
Like a dark sausage, but made mostly from blood instead of just meat.
The butcher sold pudding made from fresh pig's blood.
At breakfast he ate pudding fried until the casing was crisp.
Note
6
nounendearingcountable
A loving name you call someone you care about.
Like calling someone 'sweetie' or 'honey' because you love them.
Come here, pudding, and give me a hug.
Goodnight, pudding, sleep well.
Similardumpling
Note
7
nounslangcountable
A slang name for someone who is overweight.
The bullies cruelly called him a pudding at school.
Don't call your brother a pudding, that's unkind.
Similarfatso, porker, pig, butterball, fatty
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8
nounslanguncountable
A slang word for the guts of an animal.
The hunter cleaned out the pudding before cooking the rabbit.
She wrinkled her nose at the pudding spilling from the fish.
Similarguts, innards, bowels
Note

Less common meanings

9
nounarchaiccountable
An old slang word for a lucky break or piece of good luck.
Finding that gold coin was a real pudding for the poor traveler.
What a pudding it was to win the prize so easily!
Note
10
nounobsoleteuncountable
An old word for food of any kind.
Eat your pudding, slave, and hold your tongue.
1718, Matthew Prior, Merry AndrewHere, pudding means food of any kind.
Similarfood, grub, provisions, rations, nourishment
Note

Practice

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Origin

This word comes from Middle English 'podynge', meaning a kind of sausage. It came from Old French 'boudin', a blood sausage, from Latin 'botellus', meaning sausage. Some say it may instead come from an old root meaning 'to swell'.