chubby

chubb·y
C3H4U1B3B3Y4
/ˈt͡ʃʌbi/[ˈt͡ʃʰʌ̈bi]/ˈt͡ʃɜbi/[ˈt͡ʃʰɜbi]

adjective

Of a person: slightly overweight, somewhat fat, and hence plump, rounded, and soft.

“Obviously the chubby child was eating too much.”

Meanings

adjectivechubby (comparative chubbier, superlative chubbiest)

comparative chubbier · superlative chubbiest

  1. Of a person: slightly overweight, somewhat fat, and hence plump, rounded, and soft.

    Obviously the chubby child was eating too much.

    1 more example

    Slowly Skye wrapped her arms around the chubby woman's frame and rested her head on Rita's chest drenched with perspiration.

    2010, Marsha Hubler, The Long Ride Home, Zonderkidz, →ISBN, page 97

    Synonyms: chunky, plump, podgy, tubby, portly

  2. Of a body part: containing a moderate amount of fat.

    It’s quite normal for babies to have chubby cheeks.

    1 more example

    The servant to whom he put this question was a young fellow with chubby cheeks, small, dull eyes, and a round chin, covered with a colorless down.

    1867, Ivan Sergheïevitch Turgenef [i.e., Ivan Turgenev], chapter I, in Eugene Schuyler, transl., Fathers and Sons […], New York, N.Y.: Leypoldt and Holt, →OCLC, page 1

    Synonyms: chunky, plump, podgy

nounchubby (plural chubbies)

plural chubbies

  1. A chubby, plump person.

    The chubby is especially taken for granted: "Hey, can you watch my purse while I dance?"

    2007, Jackie Guerra, Under Construction: How I've Gained and Lost Millions of Dollars and Hundreds of Pounds, New American Library, →ISBN
    2 more examples

    Today there is no color or fabric that is out for girl or teen chubbies. Plaids, big, bold block designs, dark or light grounds, heavy textured wools, fleeces and brilliant colors of red, kelly or green, odd or off shades of rust, lavender, and other colors in the fashion cycle are now adapted in designing. Designers themselves have learned that the chubby is more truly eager for a fashionable dress[…]

    1947, Girls' and Teens' Merchandiser: The National Trade Magazine for the Girls' and Teens' Industrypage=31

    The chubby is the girl who cannot be fitted in the regular 7 to 14 size range because she is too stout. Sizes for these girls are 7*4 to 141/^, and are specially styled and designed to give them better proportions.

    1949, R. Duffy Lewis, Dorothy Stote, How to build an infant's, girls' and teens' wear business: a manual for retailers and prospective shop owners
    1. slangLGBTAn overweight or obese gay man.
  2. slangA penile erection, especially when short and with a large circumference; a boner.

    Hey, Lucius, I just wanted to share a piece of personal information with you. I've got a... a chubby right now because [starts screaming] This is one of the most awesome experiences of my life!

    2006, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby
  3. A type of thickly-padded fur jacket.

Synonyms & antonyms

adjectiveOf a person: slightly overweight, somewhat fat, and hence plump, rounded, and soft.

adjectiveOf a body part: containing a moderate amount of fat.

More synonyms by meaning

adjectivesufficiently fat so as to have a pleasing fullness of figure

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Old Norsekumben“stumpy”
  2. Old Norsekubbr
  3. Middle English*cubbe
  4. Englishchubby

Recorded since 1611, from chub (“short, thick fish species used as bait"; used metaphorically since 1558 for "lazy person”), an assibilated form of cub (“a lump, heap, mass”) and cob, from Middle English *cubbe (found only in derivative cubbel (“a block to which an animal is tethered”)), from Old Norse kubbr, kumbr (“block, stump, log”) and/or Old Norse kumben (“stumpy”), equivalent to chub + -y. Cognate with dialectal Swedish kubbug (“fat, plump, chubby”). More at chub.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Bulgarian пухкав, закръглен
  • пухкав (puhkav)of a person, somewhat fat
  • закръглен (zakrăglen)of a body part, containing a moderate amount of fat
Catalan grassonet, grosset
  • grassonetof a person, somewhat fat
  • grossetof a person, somewhat fat
Chinese Mandarin 豐滿 /丰满
  • 豐滿 /丰满 (fēngmǎn)of a person, somewhat fat
Dutch mollig, volslank
  • molligof a person, somewhat fat
  • volslankof a person, somewhat fat
  • molligof a body part, containing a moderate amount of fat
  • dikkerdjechubby person
Esperanto diketa
  • diketaof a person, somewhat fat
Finnish pullea, pulska
  • pulleaof a person, somewhat fat
  • pulskaof a person, somewhat fat
  • pulleaof a body part, containing a moderate amount of fat
  • pullukkachubby person
French potelé, dodu
  • poteléof a person, somewhat fat
  • doduof a person, somewhat fat
  • doduof a body part, containing a moderate amount of fat
  • poteléof a body part, containing a moderate amount of fat
  • doduchubby person
German mollig, Dickerchen
  • molligof a person, somewhat fat
  • Dickerchenchubby person
Hebrew שְׁמַנְמַן
  • שְׁמַנְמַן (sh'manmán)of a person, somewhat fat
Italian grassoccio, cicciuto
  • grassoccioof a person, somewhat fat
  • cicciutoof a person, somewhat fat
  • paffutelloof a person, somewhat fat
  • paffutoof a body part, containing a moderate amount of fat
  • pienottoof a body part, containing a moderate amount of fat
Japanese ぽってり, ぽちゃぽちゃ
  • ぽってり (potteri)of a person, somewhat fat
  • ぽちゃぽちゃ (pochapocha)of a person, somewhat fat
Māori māretireti, pukunati
  • māretiretiof a person, somewhat fat
  • pukunatiof a person, somewhat fat
  • makuneof a person, somewhat fat
  • pukunatichubby person
Norwegian Bokmål lubben, fetladen
  • lubbenof a person, somewhat fat
  • fetladenof a person, somewhat fat
Persian تپل, کپل
  • تپل (topol)of a person, somewhat fat
  • کپل (kopol)of a person, somewhat fat
  • لنبه (lonbe)of a person, somewhat fat
Polish pulchny, pyzaty
  • pulchnyof a person, somewhat fat
  • pyzatyof a person, somewhat fat
Portuguese rechonchudo, gorducho
  • rechonchudoof a person, somewhat fat
  • gorduchoof a person, somewhat fat
  • roliçoof a person, somewhat fat
Romanian plinuț, grăsuț
  • plinuțof a person, somewhat fat
  • grăsuțof a person, somewhat fat
  • durduliuof a person, somewhat fat
  • rotunjorof a person, somewhat fat
Russian пу́хленький, пу́хлый
  • пу́хленький (púxlenʹkij)of a person, somewhat fat
  • пу́хлый (púxlyj)of a person, somewhat fat
  • круглоли́цый (kruglolícyj)of a person, somewhat fat
  • полнощёкий (polnoščókij)of a person, somewhat fat
  • упи́танный (upítannyj)of a person, somewhat fat
  • то́лстый (tólstyj)of a person, somewhat fat
  • пуза́тый (puzátyj)of a person, somewhat fat
  • корена́стый (korenástyj)of a person, somewhat fat
  • то́лстенький (tólstenʹkij)of a person, somewhat fat
Spanish gordito, rellenito
  • gorditoof a person, somewhat fat
  • rellenitoof a person, somewhat fat
  • metido en carnesof a person, somewhat fat
  • entrado en carnesof a person, somewhat fat
  • llenitoof a person, somewhat fat
  • morcillónof a body part, containing a moderate amount of fat
Swedish knubbig, mullig
  • knubbigof a person, somewhat fat
  • mulligof a person, somewhat fat
Thai เจ้าเนื้อ
  • เจ้าเนื้อof a person, somewhat fat
Turkish semiz, etli butlu
  • semizof a person, somewhat fat
  • etli butluof a person, somewhat fat
  • şişmanof a person, somewhat fat
  • besiliof a person, somewhat fat
  • yağlıof a person, somewhat fat
  • etliof a person, somewhat fat
  • dolgunof a person, somewhat fat
  • balıketliof a person, somewhat fat
  • etine dolgunof a person, somewhat fat
  • tombulof a person, somewhat fat
Ukrainian круглоли́ций, круглови́дий
  • круглоли́ций (kruhlolýcyj)of a person, somewhat fat
  • круглови́дий (kruhlovýdyj)of a person, somewhat fat
  • повнощо́кий (povnoščókyj)of a person, somewhat fat
  • повнови́дий (povnovýdyj)of a person, somewhat fat

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with chubby

All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

chubby. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chubby

MLA

“chubby.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chubby. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chubby,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chubby.

Source: chubby on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.