obese

adjective

ō-ˈbēs 

: having excessive body fat

Synonyms of obese

• plump
• fat
• overweight
• round

Examples of obese in a Sentence

providing medical treatment for obese patients

the basset hound was so obese that its stomach touched the floor

Recent Examples on the Web

Studies show that people who are dehydrated tend to have higher BMIs and are more likely to be obese compared to people who are properly hydrated. — Jillian Kubala, Health, 6 July 2026

The Michigan parents charged with murder and torture following the death of their morbidly obese 7-year-old son will be evaluated for their competency to stand trial. — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 2 July 2026

In a separate 16-week trial, liraglutide improved hormones in obese men with functional hypogonadism, meaning low testosterone was likely related to obesity. — Angelica Stabile, FOXNews.com, 20 June 2026

Research comparing obese and non-obese horses has found that their serum lipid profile closely mirrors that of obese humans, with the same elevations in free fatty acids and the same patterns of fatty acid accumulation associated with inflammation. — Joshua Moen, STAT, 8 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin obēsus "fat, stout," past participle of *obedere, perhaps meaning originally "to gnaw," from ob- "against" + edere "to eat" — more at ob-, eat entry 1

Note: Etymologically obēsus should mean "thin, emaciated," if the sense of the unattested verb *obedere was "to eat away, gnaw," as implied by its components. The Roman writer Aulus Gellius (Noctes Atticae 19.7.3) pointed this out and adduced a passage from the poet Laevius (who is known only from a handful of quotations from his works made by other authors), where the word apparently has the meaning "wasted." Presumably the word went reanalysis after the extinction of the verb. The grammarian Pompeius Festus construed the derivation phrasally as "made fat as if as a result of eating" ("pinguis quasi ob edendum factus").

First Known Use

1651, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for obese

• apiece
• aris
• assise
• caprice
• cerise
• decease
• decrease
• eyepiece
• facepiece
• handpiece
• headpiece
• increase

Kids Definition

obese

adjective

ō-ˈbēs 

: very fat

obesity

ō-ˈbē-sət-ē

noun

Medical Definition

obese

adjective

ō-ˈbēs 

: having excessive body fat : affected by obesity