puppy

PUP-ee/ˈpʌpi/

7 meanings of puppy

1
young dognouncountable
A young dog, especially one less than about a year old that is not yet fully grown.
The breeder kept each puppy until it was eight weeks old.
At four months, the puppy was already learning basic commands.
Similarpup, whelp
Note
Behind the dog is a doll. The word comes from earlier puppie, "a woman's pet dog", and probably goes back to Old French poupée, "a doll; puppet", the same source as puppet. The pampered lap pet became the everyday word for any young dog. Along the way it mostly displaced the native whelp, from Old English hwelp, which still survives beside it.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
Puppy derives from earlier puppie, meaning a woman's pet dog, probably ultimately from Old French words meaning doll or puppet. en.wiktionary.org
Puppet shares the French source poupée through its diminutive poupette. en.wiktionary.org
Puppy formerly denoted a pampered lap pet. gutenberg.org
The earlier pet-dog term developed into the general term for a young dog. en.wiktionary.org
Puppy largely displaced native whelp, descended from Old English hwelp, which survives in modern English. en.wiktionary.org
2
any dognouncountable
A dog with a youthful appearance, or, more loosely, any dog at all.
"Who's a good puppy?" he cooed at the neighbor's twelve-year-old Great Dane.
Our beagle is twelve years old, but everyone still calls him a puppy.
Similardog, pup
3
any objectnouncolloquialcountable
A generic thing, especially one that is a nuisance or causes trouble.
Slide this puppy into the slot and the machine starts right up.
Once we get this puppy up the stairs, the new couch will finally be in.
UsageUsually this puppy, said of a machine or object you are handling: plug this puppy in.
Similarthing, sucker, beast

Less common meanings

4
nouncountable
The young of certain other animals, such as a seal or a rat; a pup.
Volunteers kept tourists away from the seal puppies resting on the sand.
My daughter begged to stay on the beach all afternoon to watch the fluffy seal puppy sleeping on the rocks.
UsageFor seals and similar animals, pup is the more usual word: a seal pup.
Similarpup
5
breastnounslangcountable
A slang term for a woman's breast, most often used in the plural.
The comedian joked that her tiny swimsuit could barely hold her puppies.
She tugged at her tight top and joked that the puppies needed room to breathe.
Similarbreast, boob
Note
Slang that nearly always comes in pairs. The plural is the normal form, as in Rodney Carrington's 2007 song "Show Them To Me", which pleads for them to be let loose.
6
nounderogatorydatedcountable
A conceited, impertinent person, typically a young man full of his own importance.
I found my place taken by an ill-bred, awkward puppy with a money bag under each arm.
1711, [Joseph Addison; Richard Steele et al.], “FRIDAY, July 13, 1711”
Similarupstart, whippersnapper, pup
Note
An eighteenth- and nineteenth-century put-down, now dated. A correspondent in Addison's Guardian essay of 1713 sneers at "an ill-bred, awkward puppy with a money bag under each arm." In Jane Austen's Emma (1815) a character confesses "a vast dislike to puppies" and names the vice itself: puppyism, that brand of self-satisfied conceit. Used today, it sounds deliberately old-fashioned. It scolds rather than wounds.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 5 facts
The contemptuous personal sense was used in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. en.wiktionary.org
The passage occurs in Joseph Addison's contribution to The Guardian, no. 106, dated 13 July 1713, within a correspondent's account of a dream. en.wiktionary.org
The quoted description contains the stated words. en.wiktionary.org
Jane Austen wrote Emma, first published in 1815. janeaustens.house
A character says "a vast dislike to puppies" and uses "puppyism" in connection with conceit. gutenberg.org
7
verbrare
To give birth to puppies, or to bring forth a litter of whelps.

Practice

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Origin

From an earlier word 'puppie' meaning 'a woman's pet dog', of uncertain origin but probably via Middle English from Old French 'poupée' ('a doll; puppet'). It mostly replaced the native Middle English 'whelp' (from Old English 'hwelp').

Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

Puppy derives from earlier puppie, meaning a woman's pet dog, whose origin is uncertain. en.wiktionary.org
The route is reversed: probably from Old French poupée, meaning a doll or puppet, via Middle English. en.wiktionary.org
Puppy mostly replaced native Middle English whelp. en.wiktionary.org
Middle English whelp derives from Old English hwelp. en.wiktionary.org