butterball

[ buht-er-bawl ]

noun

1. Northeastern U.S. the bufflehead.
2. Informal. a chubby person.
3. an individual serving of butter shaped into a small sphere.

butterball

/ ˈbʌtəˌbɔːl /

noun

1. another name for bufflehead
2. informal.
   a chubby or fat person

Word History and Origins

Origin of butterball¹

First recorded in 1930–35; butter + ball ¹

Example Sentences

“You were a little butterball when you were a baby. You had these chubby cheeks that I swear I could’ve kissed all day. It only felt right to call you pumpkin.”

From Literature

Now, scientists, park rangers and others are out to catch the wild butterball.

From Washington Post

‘I was kind of a little butterball ... Now I’m string cheese,’ Dolly Parton said after re-creating her 1978 Playboy magazine cover for her husband’s birthday.

From Los Angeles Times

“I was kind of a little butterball in that one. Well, I’m string cheese now, but he’ll probably think I’m cream cheese, I hope,” she said with a wink.

From Los Angeles Times

“I love the state of Iowa,” Mr. Trump said, by way of buttering up the home of the butterballs.

From New York Times

Related Words

• big
• bulging
• bulky
• chunky
• heavy
• hefty
• inflated
• large
• meaty
• obese
• plump
• well-fed