Definition

1. Noun:
   • A soft, sweet dessert: A type of food that is typically soft, sweet, and thickened, often with flour, eggs, or another starch, and cooked by baking, boiling, or steaming.
   • The dessert course of a meal (British usage): In British English, "pudding" can refer to the sweet course served at the end of a dinner, regardless of its specific type.
   • A savory dish: A soft, thick, baked dish that is not sweet, such as a meat or vegetable preparation.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Sweet Dessert):
  • We had chocolate pudding for dessert.
  • She makes a delicious rice pudding with raisins.
• Noun (British dessert course):
  • What's for pudding tonight?
  • We had apple pie and custard for pudding.
• Noun (Savory dish):
  • Yorkshire pudding is a traditional British side dish served with roast beef.
  • The steak and kidney pudding was very filling.

Advanced Usage

• "The proof of the pudding is in the eating": This idiom means that the true value or quality of something can only be judged by putting it to its intended use or by experiencing it directly.
  • The new software has many features, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating—we need to see if it actually makes our work easier.

Variants and Related Words

• Pud (n): An informal, chiefly British, shortening of "pudding."
  • Save room for pud!
• Corn pudding (n): A specific savory dish made from corn.
• Pudding basin (n): A deep, round bowl used for mixing and steaming puddings.

Synonyms

• Dessert: The sweet course eaten at the end of a meal.
• Custard: A dessert or sauce made with milk, eggs, and sugar, often similar in texture to some puddings.
• Flan: A baked dessert with a pastry base and a sweet filling, similar to some types of pudding.

Related Phrases

• More praise than pudding: Receiving more compliments or talk than actual, tangible benefits or rewards.
  • The new policy brought the employees more praise than pudding; their salaries remained the same.

Noun

1. any of various soft sweet desserts thickened usually with flour and baked or boiled or steamed
2. (British) the dessert course of a meal (`pud' is used informally)
3. any of various soft thick unsweetened baked dishes
   • corn pudding