Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A young dog; a pup.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun A doll; a puppet.
  • noun A young dog; a whelp; also, by extension, a young seal or other young carnivore.
  • noun A conceited, frivolous, and impertinent man; a silly young fop or coxcomb: used in contempt.
  • noun A white bowl or buoy used in the herring-fisheries to mark the position of the net nearest the fishing-boat.
  • To bring forth puppies; whelp. Also pup.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To bring forth whelps; to pup.
  • noun (Zoöl.) The young of a canine animal, esp. of the common dog; a whelp.
  • noun A name of contemptuous reproach for a conceited and impertinent person.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun A young dog.
  • noun A young rat.
  • noun A young seal.
  • noun slang, usually in the plural A woman’s breast.
  • noun informal A (generic) thing; particularly something that is a nuisance; a sucker.
  • verb transitive To bring forth whelps; to pup.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an inexperienced young person
  • noun a young dog

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English popi, small pet dog, perhaps from Anglo-Norman poppe, doll, from Vulgar Latin *puppa, from Latin pūpa, girl, doll.]

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word puppy.

Examples

  • How the 'Obama puppy' can help end animal homelessness yahooBuzzArticleHeadline = 'How the \'Obama puppy\' can help end animal homelessness '; yahooBuzzArticleSummary =' Article: It won\'t happen overnight, but if we vow always to do two simple things-adopt animals from shelters or rescue groups rather than buy them from breeders or pet shops and get our animals spayed or neutered-then together, yes, we can end animal homelessness once and for all. '

    How the 'Obama puppy' can help end animal homelessness 2009

  • The term "puppy mill" generally refers to a large commercial breeding operation where the animals do not receive proper care.

    The Seattle Times 2011

  • And please do not let anyone talk you into doing a "condition retrieve" (force breaking) until after your puppy is a year old.

    Welcome to the New F&S Dog Blog 2009

  • And please do not let anyone talk you into doing a "condition retrieve" (force breaking) until after your puppy is a year old.

    Welcome to the New F&S Dog Blog 2009

  • Lol, thanx Lobes, the puppy is a temporary measure, just seeing if I could get it to work.

    Cheeseburger Gothic » Gentlemen’s Club. 2009

  • This puppy is the cutest thing I've ever seen (and should totally be a feature on Cute Overload).

    Random Thoughts on a Gray Day 2006

  • This puppy is the cutest thing I've ever seen (and should totally be a feature on Cute Overload).

    Archive 2006-04-01 2006

  • Who's the ass-clown that wrote this show's pilot and said, "Oh yeah, this puppy is my retirement vehicle!"

    A Moment of Surrealism 2004

  • While the puppy is a loyal companion, the boy still seems depressed, so she gets him a tricycle, which he takes to with a zeal.

    Review: The Triplets of Belleville Kevin 2004

  • He had, like -- you know what we call puppy dog eyes?

    CNN Transcript Dec 5, 2003 2003

  • “Any guy, in my experience, who has to constantly tell you how tough he is ... is not a tough guy,” Avenatti said of Michael Cohen, the attorney who was the subject of FBI raids on Monday.  “He’s closer to a purse puppy than a tough guy,” Avenatti said. 

    Stormy Lawyer Taunts Trump: Michael Cohen Will ‘Fold Like A Cheap Deck Of Cards’ Ed Mazza 2018

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.

  • Funny, I am not finding refence to the slangy, vague meaning of that "thing."

    July 12, 2007

  • It's listed on Urban Dictionary ("ud" link under the word).

    July 12, 2007

  • A measure of happiness: the quantity of happiness which one 1 kilogram beagle puppy whose body temperature is 310 kelvins produces when held in skin contact for one second.

    July 28, 2008

  • "Trying to send him to a specific place is sort of like... like... trying to hit a puppy, by throwing a live bee at it." - Willow, BtVS (Triangle)

    September 24, 2008

  • Accidentally found this site: VeryCutePuppies.com. It's true, there really is a site out there for everyone.

    July 23, 2009