Fat — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

adjective verb noun /ˈfat/

Meaning & Definition of Fat

Fat (adjective)

  1. notable for having an unusual amount of fat:
  2. plump
  3. having excessive body fat

Fat (verb)

  1. to make fat, fatten

Fat (noun)

  1. animal tissue consisting chiefly of cells distended with greasy or oily matter
  2. oily or greasy matter making up the bulk of adipose tissue and often abundant in seeds
  3. any of various compounds of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen that are glycerides of fatty acids, are the chief constituents of plant and animal fat, are a major class of energy-rich food, and are soluble in organic solvents but not in water

Fat (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. having an excess of body fat

    "the popular image of Santa Claus as a fat man in a red suit"

    similar: blubbery, chubby, corpulent, fleshy, full, gross, lardy, obese, overweight, plump, podgy (chiefly British), portly, pudgy, replete, roly-poly, rotund, round, tubby
    related: beefy, bulky, chunky, heavy, heavyset, plumpish, stocky, stout, thick, thickset, weighty, brawny, burly, hefty, husky, dumpy, squat, stubby, hippy, paunchy, potbellied, flabby, soft, ample, buxom, corn-fed, ripe, zaftig, endomorphic
    opposite: lean, skinny, slender, slim, spare, thin
    near: angular, bony, gaunt, lank, lanky, rawboned, sinewy, cadaverous, emaciated, haggard, pinched, skeletal, wasted, puny, scraggy, scrawny, slight, rangy, reedy, spindling, spindly, stringy, svelte, sylphlike, twiggy, waspish, weedy, willowy, ectomorphic, anorexic

  2. containing or seeming to contain the greatest quantity or number possible

    "the lake is so fat with trout that you probably could catch fish with a bare hook"

    similar: brimful, brimming, bursting, chock-full, chockablock, crammed, crowded, filled, full, jam-packed, jammed, loaded, packed, stuffed
    related: overcrowded, overfilled, overflowing, overfull, overladen, overloaded, overstuffed, abounding, flush, fraught, replete, rife, swarming, teeming
    opposite: bare, blank, devoid, empty, stark, vacant, void
    near: deficient, inadequate, incomplete, insufficient, short, shortish, shy, wanting, depleted, drained, exhausted

  3. having a greater than usual measure across

    "a set of fat encyclopedia volumes took up the whole shelf"

    similar: broad, thick, wide
    related: expansive, extensive, sweeping, commodious, roomy, spacious, outsize, oversize, sizable, substantial, tidy, voluminous
    opposite: hairline, narrow, paper-thin, skinny, slender, slim, slim-jim, thin
    near: fine, hairlike, reedlike, elongate, needlelike, bottleneck, close, compressed, condensed, constricted, contracted, squeezed, tight, tightened, attenuate, attenuated, small, smallish, undersized

  4. having or being of relatively great depth or extent from one surface to its opposite

    "the splendid sight of a fat, juicy steak cooked to perfection"

    similar: chunky, thick
    related: blockish, blocky, bulky, dense, hefty, thickish, broad, deep, wide
    opposite: skinny, slender, slim, thin
    near: narrow, shallow

  5. producing abundantly

    "the fat soil in the river's delta"

    similar: cornucopian, fecund, fertile, fructuous, fruitful, lush, luxuriant, productive, prolific, rich
    related: bearing, generative, producing, yielding, abounding, abundant, bountiful, copious, generous, liberal, plenteous, plentiful, plenitudinous, blooming, bursting, flourishing, swarming, teeming, thriving, creative, inventive, original
    opposite: barren, dead, infertile, sterile, unfertile, unfruitful, unproductive
    near: meager, scant, scanty, skimp, skimpy, spare, sparse

  6. yielding a profit

    "the highly sought-after baseball player signed a fat contract that set a record for the major leagues"

    similar: economic, gainful, juicy, lucrative, money-spinning (chiefly British), moneymaking, paying, profitable, remunerative
    related: advantageous, beneficial, favorable, rewarding, useful, worthwhile, bankable
    opposite: unprofitable
    near: disadvantageous, unfavorable

  7. having goods, property, or money in abundance

    "while others suffered and sacrificed, the war profiteers grew fat"

    similar: affluent, deep-pocketed, fat-cat, flush, loaded, moneyed, opulent, rich, silk-stocking, wealthy, well-endowed, well-fixed, well-heeled, well-off, well-to-do, in the chips
    related: better-off, comfortable, propertied, prosperous, substantial, successful, flourishing, prospering, thriving, advantaged, blessed, privileged
    opposite: destitute, impecunious, impoverished, indigent, needy, penniless, penurious, poor, poverty-stricken
    near: unaffluent, deprived, disadvantaged, hand-to-mouth, underprivileged, bankrupt, bankrupted, beggared, broke, indebted, insolvent, pauperized, ruined, skint (chiefly British), depressed, pinched, reduced, straitened, low, short

Fat (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. individuals carefully selected as being the best of a class

    "makers of fine wine will pay very high prices for grapes that are the fat of the harvest"

    similar: A-list, aristocracy, best, choice, corps d'elite, cream, crème de la crème, elect, elite, flower, illuminati, pick, pink, pride, priesthood, prime, royalty, upper crust, cream of the crop, Hall of Fame
    related: establishment, gentry, nobility, quality, society, top, top drawer, upper class, caviar, who's who
    near: commoners, herd, hoi polloi, masses, millions, mob, multitude, rank and file, unwashed

  2. the state or an instance of going beyond what is usual, proper, or needed

    "claimed that there was absolutely no fat in the military's budget"

    similar: bellyful, excess, overabundance, overage, overflow, overkill, overmuch, overplus, oversupply, plethora, plus, redundancy, superabundance, superfluity, surfeit, surplus, surplusage
    related: abundance, bounty, plentitude, plenty, profusion, sufficiency, overproduction, overstock
    opposite: deficiency, deficit, insufficiency, undersupply
    near: dearth, lack, scarcity, want

  3. the condition of having an excess of body fat

    "there's a definite predisposition for fat on his wife's side of the family"

    similar: adiposity, chubbiness, corpulence, corpulency, embonpoint, fatness, fattiness, fleshiness, grossness, obesity, plumpness, portliness, pudginess, pursiness, rotundity, weight
    related: bulkiness, heaviness, huskiness, stoutness, brawniness, burliness, endomorphy
    opposite: leanness, reediness, slenderness, slimness, svelteness, thinness
    near: fitness, trimness, gauntness, scrawniness, skinniness, weediness

Related Entry: Fat-cat (adjective)

Fat-cat is a different word from Fat. The synonyms below are for fat-cat, not for fat.

  1. having goods, property, or money in abundance

    "the economy was in recession, but the fat-cat financiers on Wall Street didn't seem to be suffering"

    similar: affluent, deep-pocketed, fat, flush, loaded, moneyed, opulent, rich, silk-stocking, wealthy, well-endowed, well-fixed, well-heeled, well-off, well-to-do, in the chips
    related: better-off, comfortable, propertied, prosperous, substantial, successful, flourishing, prospering, thriving, advantaged, blessed, privileged
    opposite: destitute, impecunious, impoverished, indigent, needy, penniless, penurious, poor, poverty-stricken
    near: unaffluent, deprived, disadvantaged, hand-to-mouth, underprivileged, bankrupt, bankrupted, beggared, broke, indebted, insolvent, pauperized, ruined, skint (chiefly British), depressed, pinched, reduced, straitened, low, short

Related Entry: Fat cat (noun)

Fat cat is a different word from Fat. The synonyms below are for fat cat, not for fat.

  1. a wealthy person

    "that last recession was particularly hard on the poor, but the fat cats barely noticed a dip in their bank accounts"

    similar: capitalist, Croesus, deep pocket, have, money, moneybags, plutocrat, silk stocking
    related: moneymaker, money-spinner (chiefly British), magnate, nabob, tycoon, billionaire, gazillionaire, millionaire, multibillionaire, multimillionaire, multimillionairess, zillionaire, heir, heiress, jet-setter, jeunesse dorée
    opposite: have-not, pauper
    near: bankrupt, beggar

  2. one of high position or importance within a group

    "a candidate that has the backing of most of the party's fat cats"

    similar: big, big boy, big cheese, big gun, big leaguer, big shot, big wheel, big-timer, bigfoot, biggie, bigwig, heavy, heavy hitter, heavyweight, high-muck-a-muck, honcho, kahuna, kingfish, kingpin, major leaguer, muckety-muck, nabob, nawab, nibs, nob (chiefly British), pooh-bah, wheel
    related: baron, czar, king, lion, magnate, mogul, prince, princess, queen, tycoon, VIP
    opposite: lightweight, nobody, nonentity, nothing, twerp, whippersnapper, zero, zilch
    near: inferior, subordinate, underling, mediocrity, obscurity

Related Entry: Fat cats (noun)

Fat cats is a different word from Fat. The synonyms below are for fat cats, not for fat.

  1. a wealthy person

    "that last recession was particularly hard on the poor, but the fat cats barely noticed a dip in their bank accounts"

    similar: capitalists, Croesuses, deep pockets, haves, money, moneybags, plutocrats, silk stockings
    related: moneymakers, money-spinners (chiefly British), magnates, nabobs, tycoons, billionaires, gazillionaires, millionaires, multibillionaires, multimillionaires, multimillionairesses, zillionaires, heiresses, heirs, jet-setters, jeunesse dorée
    opposite: have-nots, paupers
    near: bankrupts, beggars

  2. one of high position or importance within a group

    "a candidate that has the backing of most of the party's fat cats"

    similar: big boys, big cheeses, bigfeet, biggies, big guns, big leaguers, bigs, big shots, big-timers, big wheels, bigwigs, heavies, heavy hitters, heavyweights, high-muck-a-mucks, honchos, kahunas, kingfish, kingpins, major leaguers, muckety-mucks, nabobs, nawabs, nibs, nobs (chiefly British), pooh-bahs, wheels
    related: barons, czars, kings, lions, magnates, moguls, princes, princesses, queens, tycoons, VIPs
    opposite: lightweights, nobodies, nonentities, shrimp, twerps, whippersnappers, zeros, zilches
    near: inferiors, subordinates, underlings, mediocrities, obscurities

Related Entry: Chew the fat (phrase)

Chew the fat is a different word from Fat. The synonyms below are for chew the fat, not for fat.

  1. to engage in casual or rambling conversation

    "The friends chewed the fat late into the night."

    similar: babble, blab, cackle, chaffer (British), chat, chatter, chin (slang), converse, gab, gabble, gas, jabber, jaw, kibitz, natter, palaver, patter, prate, prattle, rap, rattle, run on, schmooze, talk, twitter, visit, blow smoke, shoot the breeze, talk a blue streak
    related: gossip, tattle, descant, discuss, expatiate, yak, yammer, yap

Related Entry: Chewed the fat (phrase)

Chewed the fat is a different word from Fat. The synonyms below are for chewed the fat, not for fat.

  1. to engage in casual or rambling conversation

    "The friends chewed the fat late into the night."

    similar: babbled, blabbed, cackled, chaffered (British), chatted, chattered, chinned (slang), conversed, gabbed, gabbled, gassed, jabbered, jawed, kibitzed, nattered, palavered, pattered, prated, prattled, ran on, rapped, rattled, schmoozed, talked, twittered, visited, blew smoke, shot the breeze, talked a blue streak
    related: gossiped, tattled, descanted, discussed, expatiated, yakked, yammered, yapped

Related Entry: Chews the fat (phrase)

Chews the fat is a different word from Fat. The synonyms below are for chews the fat, not for fat.

  1. to engage in casual or rambling conversation

    "The friends chewed the fat late into the night."

    similar: babbles, blabs, cackles, chaffers (British), chats, chatters, chins (slang), converses, gabbles, gabs, gases, jabbers, jaws, kibitzes, natters, palavers, patters, prates, prattles, raps, rattles, runs on, schmoozes, talks, twitters, visits, blows smoke, shoots the breeze, talks a blue streak
    related: gossips, tattles, descants, discusses, expatiates, yaks, yammers, yaps

Related Entry: Chewing the fat (phrase)

Chewing the fat is a different word from Fat. The synonyms below are for chewing the fat, not for fat.

  1. to engage in casual or rambling conversation

    "The friends chewed the fat late into the night."

    similar: babbling, blabbing, cackling, chaffering (British), chattering, chatting, chinning (slang), conversing, gabbing, gabbling, gassing, jabbering, jawing, kibitzing, nattering, palavering, pattering, prating, prattling, rapping, rattling, running on, schmoozing, talking, twittering, visiting, blowing smoke, shooting the breeze, talking a blue streak
    related: gossiping, tattling, descanting, discussing, expatiating, yakking, yammering, yapping

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Fat

The most common words with a similar meaning to Fat:

Chiefly British: podgy, money-spinning
blubbery, chubby, corpulent, fleshy, full, gross, lardy, obese, overweight, plump, portly, pudgy, replete, roly-poly, rotund, round, tubby, brimful, brimming, bursting, chock-full, chockablock, crammed, crowded, filled, jam-packed, jammed, loaded, packed, stuffed, broad, thick, wide, chunky, cornucopian, fecund, fertile, fructuous, fruitful, lush

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Fat

Words with the opposite meaning of Fat:

lean, skinny, slender, slim, spare, thin, bare, blank, devoid, empty, stark, vacant, void, hairline, narrow, paper-thin, slim-jim, barren, dead, infertile, sterile, unfertile, unfruitful, unproductive, unprofitable, destitute, impecunious, impoverished, indigent, needy

Related Words for Fat

beefy, bulky, heavy, heavyset, plumpish, stocky, stout, thickset, weighty, brawny, burly, hefty, husky, dumpy, squat, stubby, hippy, paunchy, potbellied, flabby, soft, ample, buxom, corn-fed, ripe, zaftig, endomorphic, overcrowded, overfilled, overflowing

Near Antonyms of Fat

angular, bony, gaunt, lank, lanky, rawboned, sinewy, cadaverous, emaciated, haggard, pinched, skeletal, wasted, puny, scraggy, scrawny, slight, rangy, reedy, spindling, spindly, stringy, svelte, sylphlike, twiggy, waspish, weedy, willowy, ectomorphic, anorexic

Word Forms of Fat

Inflections: fatter, fattest, fatted, fatting

Derived words: fatness (noun), fatless (adjective)

Origin & Etymology of Fat

Middle English, from Old English fǣtt, past participle of fǣtan to cram; akin to Old High German feizit fat

First known use: before 12th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Fat

Words & Phrases Containing Fat

fat body, fat cat, fat cell, fat depot, fat farm, fat-finger, fat-shame

Frequently Asked Questions about Fat

What does "Fat" mean?

"Fat" means notable for having an unusual amount of fat:. As an an adjective, a verb and a noun, it is defined as: notable for having an unusual amount of fat:. It has 10 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Fat"?

Other words for "Fat" include blubbery, chubby, corpulent, fleshy, full, gross, lardy and obese. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Fat" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Fat"?

There are 236 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Fat". Common alternatives include blubbery, chubby, corpulent, fleshy, full, gross, lardy, obese, overweight and plump.

What is the opposite of "Fat"?

Antonyms of "Fat" include lean, skinny, slender, slim, spare, thin, bare and blank. Near antonyms include angular, bony, gaunt and lank.

How do you use "Fat" in a sentence?

Examples of "Fat" in a sentence: "the popular image of Santa Claus as a fat man in a red suit"; "the lake is so fat with trout that you probably could catch fish with a bare hook"; "a set of fat encyclopedia volumes took up the whole shelf".

Is "Fat" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Fat" can be used as an adjective, a verb and a noun, depending on the context.

Is "Fat" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

As an A1-level word, "Fat" is typical of Cambridge A1 Movers (Young Learners), TOEIC Listening & Reading 120+.

How do you pronounce "Fat"?

"Fat" is pronounced /ˈfat/.