fat
fat Lexical Profile
fat Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Having a large amount of excess flesh or adipose tissue on the body; plump or overweight.
"The bear grew fat over the autumn months by feeding on salmon and berries before hibernation."
Thick, wide, or bulky in size, volume, or extent.
"He spent the weekend reading a fat volume of nineteenth-century Russian history."
Large in financial amount, value, or profitability; lucrative or substantial.
"The firm awarded its senior partners a fat bonus at the close of the fiscal year."
Containing a high proportion of animal oil, grease, or adipose tissue (of meat or food).
"The butcher trimmed the fat edges off the pork chops before wrapping them."
• noun
Any of various animal or vegetable oils and solid substances composed of glycerides of fatty acids, used in cooking and nutrition as an energy source.
"Olive oil and avocados are rich in healthy unsaturated fats."
A natural oily or greasy substance occurring in animal bodies, especially when deposited as a layer under the skin or around certain organs.
"A thick layer of subcutaneous fat helps marine mammals stay warm in frigid polar waters."
Superfluous or unnecessary elements, resources, or expenditure within an organization or project.
"The new budget aims to trim the fat from administrative overhead without reducing core services."
• verb
To make or become fat or plump, especially by feeding livestock for slaughter.
"In the traditional parable, the father ordered his servants to slaughter the fatted calf to celebrate his son's return."
Word Nuance & Usage
When describing human body weight, 'fat' is often perceived as blunt or derogatory in polite conversation, where clinical or milder terms like 'overweight' or 'heavy' are generally preferred, though it has also been reclaimed as a neutral descriptor by body-positivity movements. In transitive verbal usage, 'fatten' is much more common in modern English than 'fat'.
• Rhymes for fat
Word Origin & Etymology
From Old English 'fǣtt' ('fatted, plump, obese'), originally the past participle of 'fǣtan' ('to cram, stuff, or load'), derived from Proto-Germanic '*faitaz'.