pup

/pəp/

/pəp/

Other forms: pups; pupped; pupping

Even though you probably think of a young, cuddly dog when you hear the word pup, a pup is the correct name for the young of many different mammals (even the not-so-cuddly porcupine!).

When your dog has babies, they're pups, and the same is true of baby wolves. What's more surprising is that so are the baby anteaters in the zoo, as well as the offspring of sea lions, gerbils, and mongooses, among others. Sometimes this noun is also used to mean a young person who's particularly naive or arrogant. Pup comes from puppy, from the Middle French poupée, "doll."

Definitions of pup

1. noun

   young of any of various canines such as a dog or wolf
   synonyms: whelp

   types:

   puppy

   a young dog

   type of:

   young mammal

   any immature mammal
2. noun

   an inexperienced young person
   synonyms: puppy

   type of:

   spring chicken, young person, younker, youth

   a young person (especially a young man or boy)
3. verb

   birth
   synonyms: whelp

   type of:

   bear, birth, deliver, give birth, have

   cause to be born