tubby

adjective

tub·​by ˈtə-bē How to pronounce tubby (audio)
tubbier; tubbiest
1
: pudgy, fat
2
: sounding dull and without proper resonance or freedom of sound
a tubby violin

Examples of tubby in a Sentence

in America, Santa Claus is portrayed as a jolly but tubby older gentleman
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Colin Farrell’s Penguin Is Different From The Comics The original Batman villains were mostly made up of gangsters, and the Penguin first appeared in the early 40’s as a tubby man in a tuxedo and monocle, wielding a variety of gadgets inside his iconic umbrella. Dani Di Placido, Forbes, 28 Oct. 2024 Heavy, ample, plump, tubby—these might as well be curse words. TIME, 2 Feb. 2024 This gives it the slight grace of a drawer without sacrificing the functionality of a big tubby bin. Kevin Cortez, Popular Mechanics, 17 Aug. 2023 After a long day of tail wagging, tubby rubbing, and shoe chewing, your dog deserves a comfortable place to rest. Cai Cramer, Peoplemag, 13 Apr. 2023 The 65-minute family show sees A.A. Milne‘s tubby little cubby brought to life along with his furry friends. K.j. Yossman, Variety, 27 Mar. 2023 These spirits, or at least the pair of figurines representing them, were too tubby to fit through the door to their new spirit house at the Baan Pitak condominium in Bangkok. Adam Dean, BostonGlobe.com, 13 June 2020 The hot, fit, loving family who knows how to build a house by hand, or the tubby middle-aged broad who can’t even drive stick? Aaron Gilbreath, Longreads, 3 Mar. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1807, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of tubby was circa 1807

Dictionary Entries Near tubby

Cite this Entry

“Tubby.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tubby. Accessed 27 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

tubby

adjective
tub·​by ˈtəb-ē How to pronounce tubby (audio)
tubbier; tubbiest

More from Merriam-Webster on tubby

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!