pudding

UK: /ˈpʊdɪŋ/ US: /ˈpʊdɪŋ/ ,(pŏŏd′ing)

WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026

pud•ding /ˈpʊdɪŋ/   n. 

1. Food a soft, thickened dessert, usually made with milk, sugar, flour, and flavoring:
   [uncountable] Chocolate pudding is for dessert.
   [countable] several puddings to choose from.
2. Food, British Terms [uncountable] [Brit.] the dessert course of a meal.

WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026

pud•ding  (pŏŏd′ing), n. 

1. Food a thick, soft dessert, typically containing flour or some other thickener, milk, eggs, a flavoring, and sweetener:
   tapioca pudding.
2. Food a similar dish unsweetened and served with or as a main dish:
   corn pudding.
3. Food, British Terms [Brit.] the dessert course of a meal.
4. Nautical, Food, Naval Terms a pad or fender for preventing scraping or chafing or for lessening shock between vessels or other objects.

• 1275–1325; Middle English poding kind of sausage; compare Old English puduc wen, sore (perh. origin, originally swelling), Low German puddewurst black pudding

pud′ding•like′, adj. 

Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::

pudding / ˈpʊdɪŋ/ noun

1. a sweetened usually cooked dessert made in many forms and of various ingredients, such as flour, milk, and eggs, with fruit, etc
2. a savoury dish, usually soft and consisting partially of pastry or batter: steak-and-kidney pudding
3. the dessert course in a meal
4. a sausage-like mass of seasoned minced meat, oatmeal, etc, stuffed into a prepared skin or bag and boiled

Etymology: 13th Century poding; compare Old English puduc a wart, Low German puddek sausage

ˈpuddingy adjective