pudding

American  

[pood-ing] / ˈpʊd ɪŋ /

noun

1. a thick, soft dessert, typically containing flour or some other thickener, milk, eggs, a flavoring, and sweetener.

   tapioca pudding.

2. a similar dish unsweetened and served with or as a main dish.

   corn pudding.

3. British. the dessert course of a meal.

4. Nautical. a pad or fender for preventing scraping or chafing or for lessening shock between vessels or other objects.

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pudding British  

/ ˈpʊdɪŋ /

noun

1. a sweetened usually cooked dessert made in many forms and of various ingredients, such as flour, milk, and eggs, with fruit, etc

2. a savoury dish, usually soft and consisting partially of pastry or batter

   steak-and-kidney pudding

3. the dessert course in a meal

4. a sausage-like mass of seasoned minced meat, oatmeal, etc, stuffed into a prepared skin or bag and boiled

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pudding Idioms  

1. see proof of the pudding.

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Other Word Forms

• puddinglike adjective
• puddingy adjective

Etymology

Origin of pudding

1275–1325; Middle English poding kind of sausage; compare Old English puduc wen, sore (perhaps originally swelling), Low German puddewurst black pudding

Explanation

Pudding is a sweet, creamy dessert that you eat with a spoon. The song “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” implores someone to “bring us some figgy pudding,” but chocolate or vanilla would be much easier to find. Most pudding is made with milk, sugar, and flavoring with a thickening agent like cornstarch. Your favorite might be dark chocolate, butterscotch, or rice pudding. These are delicious, smooth, and usually served cold. In Britain, pudding simply means "dessert," but in North America pudding is a specific kind of after-dinner treat. Back in the 1300s, pudding had a different meaning: "a kind of sausage." You can still get that kind of blood pudding in England. If you must.

Example Sentences

"And the proof will only be in the pudding."

From BBC • Mar. 12, 2026

But it’s not evidence that moral standards are higher in the land of sticky toffee pudding and the BBC Proms.

From Salon • Feb. 15, 2026

But it’s a mistake to read this episode as evidence that moral standards are just that much higher in the land of sticky toffee pudding and the BBC Proms.

From Salon • Feb. 15, 2026

Menu items range from $1.19 for the soft serve to $4.99 for its “super-triple” milk tea with tapioca pearls, pudding and coconut jelly toppings.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 24, 2026

Lunch turned out to be a massive affair, with a thick soup, fresh rye bread, onion rolls, bagels, cream cheese, scrambled eggs, smoked salmon, and chocolate pudding.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok