Fat

/fæt/ adj, noun, verb, slang

adj, noun, verb, slang ·Top 500 ·Elementary level

Meaning at a glance

  • Primary sense: A specialized animal tissue with high lipid content, used for long-term storage of energy: fat tissue.
  • Grammar: fat is listed as adj, noun, verb, slang.
  • Nearest alternatives: adipose tissue, lard, blubber, grease.
  • Useful contrasts: Of sense: lean, skinny, slender.
  • Usage evidence: If you eat too much, you'll become fat.

How to use "fat"

  1. Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
  2. Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "fat" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
  3. Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.

Meaning check

  • Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
  • Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
  • Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
  • Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?

Source and review context

This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "fat" in a final draft.

If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.

Before you rely on this definition

Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "fat" as the right word for your sentence.

If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "fat" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.

Compare nearby meanings

  • Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
  • Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
  • Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
  • Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.

Definition decision workflow

1. Identify the role

Check whether "fat" is acting as adj, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.

2. Test the nearest option

Compare it with "adipose tissue" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.

3. Confirm with context

Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.

Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.

Final meaning check

Before publishing a sentence with "fat", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.

When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A specialized animal tissue with high lipid content, used for long-term storage of energy: fat tissue. uncountable, usually

    "Mammals that hibernate have plenty of fat to keep them warm during the winter."

  2. 2
    A large tub or vessel for water, wine, or other liquids; a cistern. obsolete

    "And the floores ſhall bee full of wheate, and the fats ſhall ouerflowe with wine and oyle."

  3. 3
    A fop or dandy.

    "I took my revenge on this ‘fat’, by making him as fatuitous as I possibly could."

  4. 4
    Acronym of file allocation table. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
  5. 5
    excess bodily weight wordnet
Show 17 more definitions
  1. 6
    A specialized animal tissue with high lipid content, used for long-term storage of energy: fat tissue.; Such tissue as food: the fatty portion of (or trimmings from) meat cuts. uncountable, usually

    "Ask the butcher for a few pounds of fat for our greens."

  2. 7
    A dry measure, generally equal to nine bushels. obsolete
  3. 8
    Acronym of file allocation table.; Any of a series of file systems that use one or more FATs.; FAT16 or FAT16B. countable, often, specifically, uncountable
  4. 9
    a kind of body tissue containing stored fat that serves as a source of energy; it also cushions and insulates vital organs wordnet
  5. 10
    A lipid that is solid at room temperature, which fat tissue contains and which is also found in the blood circulation; sometimes, a refined substance chemically resembling such naturally occurring lipids. countable, usually

    "Dietary fat is not the evil that it was once misapprehended to be; carbs are increasingly recognized as a bigger driver of atherosclerosis via chronic insulin resistance and the vascular processes that cascade from it."

  6. 11
    Acronym of file allocation table.; Any of a series of file systems that use one or more FATs.; FAT12. countable, sometimes, specifically, uncountable
  7. 12
    a soft greasy substance occurring in organic tissue and consisting of a mixture of lipids (mostly triglycerides) wordnet
  8. 13
    That part of an organization deemed wasteful. uncountable, usually

    "We need to trim the fat in this company"

  9. 14
    Acronym of file allocation table.; Any of a series of file systems that use one or more FATs.; FAT12 or FAT16, without drawing a distinction between the two. countable, specifically, uncountable
  10. 15
    An erection. slang, uncountable, usually

    "I saw Daniel crack a fat."

  11. 16
    Any of a series of genes and their equivalent proteins that are associated with cell proliferation. countable, uncountable
  12. 17
    A poorly played shot where the ball is struck by the top part of the club head. (see also thin, shank, toe) uncountable, usually
  13. 18
    Initialism of full agricultural tenancy. England, Wales, abbreviation, alt-of, countable, initialism
  14. 19
    The best or richest productions; the best part. uncountable, usually

    "to live on the fat of the land"

  15. 20
    Work containing much blank, or its equivalent, and therefore profitable to the compositor. dated, uncountable, usually
  16. 21
    A fat person. derogatory, informal, uncountable, usually

    "Prefer military, bodybuilders, jocks. No smokers or fats please."

  17. 22
    A beef cattle fattened for sale. uncountable, usually

    "Before riding over to the fats we'll have a look about us."

Verb
  1. 1
    To make fat; to fatten. archaic, transitive

    "kill the fatted calf"

  2. 2
    make fat or plump wordnet
  3. 3
    To become fat; to fatten. archaic, intransitive
  4. 4
    To hit (a golf ball) with a fat shot. transitive

    "“On this one hole, Donald hits his second and fats it into the water,” Faxon remembers. “But he quickly says to me, ‘Hey, throw me another ball; they weren’t looking.’ So I do. But he fats that one into the water, too. So he drives up and drops where he should’ve dropped the first time and hits it on the green.”"

Adjective
  1. 1
    Carrying more fat than usual on one's body; plump; not lean or thin. derogatory, sometimes

    "The fat man had problems going through the door."

  2. 2
    Thick; large.

    "The fat wallets of the men from the city brought joy to the peddlers."

  3. 3
    Bulbous; rotund.

    "So this was my future home, I thought! […] Backed by towering hills, the but faintly discernible purple line of the French boundary off to the southwest, a sky of palest Gobelin flecked with fat, fleecy little clouds, it in truth looked a dear little city; the city of one's dreams."

  4. 4
    Bountiful.
  5. 5
    Oily; greasy; unctuous; rich (said of food).
Show 11 more definitions
  1. 6
    Exhibiting the qualities of a fat animal; coarse; heavy; gross; dull; stupid. obsolete

    "Make the heart of this people fat,[…]"

  2. 7
    Fertile; productive.

    "a fat soil; a fat pasture"

  3. 8
    Rich; producing a large income; desirable.

    "a fat benefice; a fat office;  a fat job"

  4. 9
    Abounding in riches; affluent; fortunate.

    ", "Why Christ's Doctrine was Rejected" persons grown fat and wealthy by a long and successful imposture"

  5. 10
    Of a character which enables the compositor to make large wages; said of matter containing blank, cuts, or many leads, etc. dated

    "a fat take; a fat page"

  6. 11
    Being a shot in which the ground is struck before the ball.

    "Hitting a thin shot from a fairway bunker is more productive than hitting a fat shot."

  7. 12
    Of a role: significant; major; meaty.

    "He is what the theatre calls a “fat” role — a man suddenly confronted by a terrible duty. He is called upon to revenge the murder of his father and to right a wrong against the state."

  8. 13
    Being greatly or substantially such; real. slang

    "1970-1975, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure I'd've liked to hang around but the guys were in a fat hurry."

  9. 14
    Having a full or rich sound with strong bass and low-midrange presence.
  10. 15
    Carrying additional data or functionality.

    "fat client"

  11. 16
    Alternative form of phat. alt-of, alternative

    "This isn't a place to talk about “hitting the decks” and making “fat beats”—you're not selling to an industry peer."

Adjective
  1. 1
    having an (over)abundance of flesh wordnet
  2. 2
    containing or composed of fat wordnet
  3. 3
    marked by great fruitfulness wordnet
  4. 4
    lucrative wordnet
  5. 5
    having a relatively large diameter wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
adipose tissuelardblubbergreaseaboundingabounding in riches

Antonyms

Of sense: leanskinnyslenderslim

Example

"If you eat too much, you'll become fat."

Common questions

What does "fat" mean?

A specialized animal tissue with high lipid content, used for long-term storage of energy: fat tissue.

What is a synonym for "fat"?

Common synonyms include: adipose tissue, lard, blubber, grease, abounding, abounding in riches.

How do you use "fat" in a sentence?

If you eat too much, you'll become fat.

How do you pronounce "fat"?

Pronounced /fæt/.

Etymology

Etymology 1

From Middle English fat, from Old English fǣtt (“fatted, fat”), from Proto-West Germanic *faitid (“fatted”), originally the past participle of the verb *faitijan (“to make fat”), from *fait (“fat”).

Etymology 2

From Middle English fat, fatt, fatte, from the adjective above, and possibly from Old English fǣt (“fat”, recorded once), from Proto-West Germanic *fait, from Proto-Germanic *faitą, *faitaz (“fat”).

Etymology 3

From Middle English fat, from Old English fæt (“vat, vessel, jar, cup, casket, division”), from Proto-Germanic *fatą (“vessel”), from Proto-Indo-European *pod- (“vessel”). Cognate with Dutch vat (“barrel, vessel”), German Fass (“barrel, drum”), Swedish fat (“barrel, dish, cask”). See vat.

Etymology 4

From French fat (“conceited person”).

More for "fat"

Synonyms

Next best steps

Find stronger synonymsBrowse writing guidesExplore topic clusters