tubby
/ˈtʌbi/adjective, noun
tubby is spelled T-U-B-B-Y: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As an adjective, tubby means “stout, rotund” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in tubby?
| Letters | 5: T-U-B-B-Y |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 2 million words; the 43,663rd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is tubby?
Tubby appears about once in every 2 million words in written English, the 43,663rd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce tubby?
- /ˈtʌbi/
- /ˈstʊbi/
Tubby has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-au-tubby.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of tubby
- tubbier comparative
- tubbiest superlative
- tubbies plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does tubby mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
adjective
- 1
stout, rotund
- 2
Resembling a tub
- 3
sounding dull and without resonance or freedom of sound.
a tubby violin
noun
- 1
derogatoryslangAn overweight person.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Tubby in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | dodu, rondelet |
| German | moppelig, pummelig, rundlich, dick , fassartig, bauchig |
| Spanish | gordito |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does tubby come from?
From tub + -y. False cognate with chubby, even though they are often interchangeable.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).