chubby

adjective

chub·​by ˈchə-bē 

chubbier; chubbiest

: somewhat fat

a chubby child

Growing up, I was always the chubbiest in the family …

—Anna Schuchman

This is the very real story of the little bucktoothed, chubby 9-year-old boy who invented the MC …

—Killer Mike, quoted in The Dallas Morning News

also : having a full, rounded form

a baby with chubby cheeks

Chubby, crackly egg rolls with chicken, beef, or vegetables are deep-fried to order …

—Mike Sula

chubbiness

ˈchə-bē-nəs 

noun

The faces in the mosaics have a roundness, the figures a chubbiness that one does not associate with Roman portraiture …

—Sarah Caudwell

Synonyms of chubby

• plump
• fat
• round

Examples of chubby in a Sentence

the chubby baby had slimmed down by the time she was a toddler

Recent Examples on the Web

Terrific—carry on with your chubby little juice grenades and tell your partner that love means never criticizing someone’s convenience foods. — Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 6 Sep. 2026

JapanLA was auctioning the rarest Sonny Angels for hundreds of dollars, and that started bothering some fans of the chubby, pantless collectibles. — Iris Kwok, Los Angeles Times, 4 Sep. 2026

Making these chubby little sweets may be even quicker than a drive to the orchard. — Shilpa Uskokovic, Bon Appetit Magazine, 31 Aug. 2026

Some fans online have criticized the decision to cast a non-plus sized actor to play the character of Harris, who was described as chubbier than the hockey players of the book. — Nicole Fell, HollywoodReporter, 9 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

chub

First Known Use

1722, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for chubby

• cubby
• grubby
• hubby
• scrubby
• shrubby
• stubby
• tubby

Kids Definition

chubby

adjective

chub·​by ˈchəb-ē 

chubbier; chubbiest

: plump entry 5

a chubby baby

chubbiness noun