adj
tubby
TUH-bee
adj
1
Short and round in build; plump.
"The cartoon showed a tubby cat lounging on a sofa."
"He was a cheerful, tubby little man who loved his food."
How to Use Tubby
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishA slightly old-fashioned, informal word for someone who is short and plump.
When to use it
Informal and can come across as mocking, so it is usually best avoided as a description of a real person to their face.
Easily confused with
Word Forms
tubbier comparative, tubbies plural, tubbiest superlative
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The cartoon showed a _____ cat lounging on a sofa.
Etymology
From tub + -y, describing someone shaped a bit like a barrel. It looks related to "chubby" but the resemblance is coincidental — the two words developed separately.