# puppy

Pronunciation: say "PUP-ee" /ˈpʌpi/

## Noun

1. A young dog, especially one less than about a year old that is not yet fully grown.
   - Simple: A young dog 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._
2. A dog with a youthful appearance, or, more loosely, any dog at all.
   - Simple: A dog that looks young, or sometimes just 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._
3. A generic thing, especially one that is a nuisance or causes trouble. *(colloquial)*
   - Simple: An informal name for some object, often one that is annoying or hard to handle.
   - _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._
4. The young of certain other animals, such as a seal or a rat; a pup.
   - Simple: A baby seal, rat, or similar animal.
   - _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._
5. A slang term for a woman's breast, most often used in the plural. *(slang)*
   - Simple: A slang word for a woman's breast.
   - _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._

## Noun

6. A conceited, impertinent person, typically a young man full of his own importance. *(dated)*
   - Simple: A rude, show-off young man who thinks he is better than other people.

## Other meanings

- (verb) To give birth to puppies, or to bring forth a litter of whelps.

## 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').

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