fat

1 of 3

adjective

ˈfat 

fatter; fattest

1

: notable for having an unusual amount of fat:

a

: plump

a cute, fat little baby

b

: having excessive body fat

… a woman of medium height, a little plump but not fat …

—Mary McCarthy

c

of a meat animal : fattened for market

d

of food : oily, greasy

a fat, rich cheese

2

a

: well filled out : thick, big

a fat book

b

: full in tone and quality : rich

a gorgeous fat bass voice

—Irish Digest

c

: well stocked

a fat larder

d

: prosperous, wealthy

grew fat on the war

—Time

e

: being substantial and impressive

a fat bank account

3

a

: richly rewarding or profitable

a fat part in a movie

a fat contract

b

: practically nonexistent

a fat chance

4

: productive, fertile

a fat year for crops

5

informal : stupid, foolish

" … if he had had any sense in his fat head, he would have done it long ago, dash him!"

—P. G. Wodehouse

6

: being swollen

got a fat lip from the fight

7

of a baseball pitch : easy to hit

fatness noun

fat

2 of 3

verb

fatted; fatting

transitive verb

: to make fat : fatten

fat

3 of 3

noun

1

: animal tissue consisting chiefly of cells distended with greasy or oily matter

2

a

: oily or greasy matter making up the bulk of adipose tissue and often abundant in seeds

b

: any of various compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen that are glycerides of fatty acids, are the chief constituents of plant and animal fat, are a major class of energy-rich food, and are soluble in organic solvents but not in water

c

: a solid or semisolid fat as distinguished from an oil

3

: the best or richest part

4

: obesity

5

: something in excess : superfluity

trim the fat from the news operation

—Ray Olson

fatless

ˈfat-ləs 

adjective

Synonyms

Adjective

• blubbery
• chubby
• corpulent
• fleshy
• full
• gross
• lardy
• obese
• overweight
• plump
• podgy [chiefly British]
• portly
• pudgy
• replete
• roly-poly
• rotund
• round
• tubby

Noun

• A-list
• aristocracy
• best
• choice
• corps d'elite
• cream
• crème de la crème
• elect
• elite
• flower
• illuminati
• pick
• pink
• pride
• priesthood
• prime
• royalty
• upper crust

Examples of fat in a Sentence

Adjective

The dog is getting fat because you feed him too much.

I can't believe I've let myself get so fat.

a fat book of poems

a truck with fat tires

Noun

people with excess body fat

a diet and exercise program to help you gain muscle and lose fat

Nuts contain a lot of fat.

Trim the fat from the meat before you cook it.

a diet low in fats

fats like butter and olive oil

trim the fat off the budget

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

With little near-term help expected from an easing of interest rates, companies will need to deliver fatter profits to justify their big runs in stock price since autumn. —Elaine Kurtenbach, Quartz, 18 Apr. 2024

Beauty is inclusive, beauty is tall, skinny fat, red, yellow, brown. —Gillian Telling, Peoplemag, 17 Apr. 2024

Over the course of the winter, the furry predators use up those fat stores during hibernation. —Hanh Truong, Sacramento Bee, 16 Apr. 2024

One of these markers was higher production of coenzyme A, a molecule that shuttles carbon around cells and is important for breaking down carbs, amino acids and fat into chemical energy. —Travis Nemkov, Discover Magazine, 11 Apr. 2024

Those with elevated triglycerides (fat in the blood): High blood levels of triglycerides can increase the risk of heart attack or stroke. —Erika Prouty, Verywell Health, 11 Apr. 2024

Weight gain, including belly fat, can occur for many reasons. —Carey Rossi, Health, 9 Apr. 2024

It is believed to enhance metabolism and aid in fat burning. —Robert James and, Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2024

But there’s something else strategic going on, in that the contrast of flavor and texture and color, fat and lean, cold and hot, happens not all on the plate, but between multiple dishes. —Jessica Carbone, Saveur, 3 Apr. 2024

Noun

That includes prioritizing monounsaturated fats, which are found in plant foods like nuts, avocados, and vegetable oils. —Angela Haupt, TIME, 17 Apr. 2024

And as a bonus, you get rendered duck fat, which is great for cooking potatoes. —Aaron Hutcherson, Washington Post, 16 Apr. 2024

Avocados have arguably become one of the most popular foods in recent years, touted for their healthy fats. —Jack Knudson, Discover Magazine, 16 Apr. 2024

Maple Hill has removed the lactose through a proprietary soft-filtering process, so that each serving still contains the beneficial fats, calcium, and potassium normally in milk, but none of the sugar, resulting in a thick, creamy beverage. —Jessie Shafer, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 Apr. 2024

Visceral fat is fat that develops between and around internal organs. —Elizabeth Woolley, Verywell Health, 9 Apr. 2024

Elijah Anderson-Taylor has impressed after losing 15 pounds of fat and gaining eight pounds of muscle. —Walter Villa, Miami Herald, 8 Apr. 2024

To keep lips hydrated, Kapoor also recommended shea butter and ceramide, a type of fat found in skin cells. —Jocelyn Solis-Moreira, CNN, 7 Apr. 2024

From Henry Ford LiveWell 361 calories (21% from fat), 9 grams fat (3.5 grams sat. —Bethany Thayer, Detroit Free Press, 6 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Adjective, Verb, and Noun

Middle English, from Old English fǣtt, past participle of fǣtan to cram; akin to Old High German feizit fat

First Known Use

Adjective

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing fat

• a (fat) lot of good
• baby fat
• big fat
• brown fat
• burn fat
• chew the fat
• deep fat
• deep-fat fryer
• fat body
• fat-burning
• fat cat
• fat cell
• fat city
• fat depot
• fat farm
• fat-free
• fat-shame
• fat shamer
• fat shaming
• fat-tailed sheep
• fat-witted
• full-fat
• it ain't over until/till the fat lady sings
• leaf fat
• live off/on the fat of the land
• low-fat
• milk fat
• puppy fat
• trans fat
• wool fat

Kids Definition

fat

1 of 3 adjective

ˈfat 

fatter; fattest

1

a

: plump entry 5, fleshy

b

: oily sense 1, greasy

2

a

: thick entry 1 sense 1

a fat book

b

: well stocked : abundant

3

: profitable

accepted a fat contract

4

: productive sense 1, fertile

5

: being swollen

got a fat lip in the fight

fatness noun

fat

2 of 3 verb

fatted; fatting

: to make fat : fatten

fat

3 of 3 noun

1

: animal tissue consisting chiefly of cells containing much greasy or oily matter

2

a

: any of numerous compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen that make up most of plant and animal fat, are a major class of energy-rich food, and can be dissolved by ether but not by water

b

: a solid or semisolid fat (as lard) as distinguished from an oil

3

: the best or richest part

the fat of the land

4

: an amount beyond what is usual or needed : excess

Medical Definition

fat

1 of 2 adjective

ˈfat 

fatter; fattest

: notable for having an unusual amount of fat

especially : fleshy with superfluous flabby tissue that is not muscle : obese

fatness noun

fat

2 of 2 noun

1

: animal tissue consisting chiefly of cells distended with greasy or oily matter see brown fat

2

a

: oily or greasy matter making up the bulk of adipose tissue

b

: any of numerous compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen that are glycerides of fatty acids, are the chief constituents of plant and animal fat, are a major class of energy-rich food, and are soluble in organic solvents (as ether) but not in water

c

: a solid or semisolid fat as distinguished from an oil

3

: the condition of fatness : obesity