pup

American  

[puhp] / pʌp /

noun

1. a young dog; puppy.

2. the young of certain other animals, as the rat, shark, or fur seal.

3. a small plant developing as an offshoot from a mature plant.

---

verb (used without object)

pupped, pupping

1. to give birth to pups.

pup British  

/ pʌp /

noun

1. 1. a young dog, esp when under one year of age; puppy

   2. the young of various other animals, such as the seal

2. (of a bitch) pregnant

3. informal a conceited young man (esp in the phrase young pup )

4. to swindle someone by selling him something worthless

5. slang it's early yet

---

verb

1. (of dogs, seals, etc) to give birth to (young)

Etymology

Origin of pup

First recorded in 1580–90; shortened variant of puppy

Explanation

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."

Example Sentences

At a South African rescue centre, a pangolin pup rests wrapped in a blanket.

From BBC • Mar. 25, 2026

As a pup, the four-legged hero's boundless energy made it tough to stay indoors, but he found his true potential in the bush.

From Barron's • Mar. 25, 2026

If your pup does get lost, you can report it in the app for extra help with the search and rescue.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 23, 2025

How sea otter pup was reunited with mom.

From MarketWatch • Nov. 21, 2025

Not the shy squeak of a mouse pup.

From "Wishtree" by Katherine Applegate

Related Words

• baby
• brood
• child
• cub
• daughter
• descendant
• generation
• heir
• kid
• progeny
• son