fat

fat¹ W3S2 [fæt] adj comparative fatter superlative fattest

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1¦(flesh)¦

2¦(object)¦

3¦(money)¦

4 fat chance

5 (a) fat lot of good/use

6 fat cat

7 in fat city

8 grow fat on something

9 a fat lip

10¦(approval)¦

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[: Old English; Origin: fAtt]

1.) ¦(FLESH)¦

weighing too much because you have too much flesh on your body

≠ ↑thin

▪ Are you suggesting I'm too fat?

▪ a short fat man in his early fifties

▪ You'll get fat if you eat all that chocolate.

▪ He looks much fatter than in his photo.

2.) ¦(OBJECT)¦

thick or wide

≠ ↑thin

▪ Dobbs was smoking a fat cigar.

▪ a big fat book

3.) ¦(MONEY)¦ [only before noun] informal

containing or worth a large amount of money

▪ a fat cheque

▪ Of course the supermarkets' aim is to make fat profits .

4.) fat chance informal

used to say that something is very unlikely to happen

fat chance of

▪ 'You can go to bed now and sleep easy.' 'Fat chance of that!'

5.) (a) fat lot of good/use

spoken not at all useful or helpful

▪ Fat lot of use you are in the kitchen.

6.) fat cat informal

someone who has too much money, especially someone who is paid too much for their job - used in order to show disapproval

▪ the fat cats at the top who have recently been given obscene pay increases

7.) in fat city

AmE old-fashioned having plenty of money

8.) grow fat on sth

to become rich because of something used to show disapproval

▪ The finance men had grown fat on managing other people's money.

9.) a fat lip informal

a lip that is swollen because it has been hit

▪ My friend was badly injured with bruised ribs and a fat lip.

10.)¦(APPROVAL)¦ informal

another spelling of ↑phat ; used to show approval, especially of someone or something that is fashionable, interesting, or attractive

fat/phat beats

(=music that sounds good)

▪ Check out these fat beats.

>fatness n [U]

▪ a rise in fatness in children

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WORD CHOICE: fat, overweight, obese, chubby, plump, big, well-built

In general, people do not like to be called fat. But some ways to say 'fat' are less rude than others.

fat is a very direct word. You might use it about yourself but it will usually cause offence if you use it about someone else : I'm so fat at the moment!

overweight is a more polite way to say that someone is fatter than they usually are or than they should be : She is a little overweight.

obese is a word used especially by doctors to describe people who are very fat, in a way that is bad for their health.

chubby is a more informal word and is used especially of children or of rounded body parts such as cheeks or knees.

plump means fat and rounded in a pleasant way : a plump, motherly woman

big and well-built are fairly polite ways to describe someone with a large, strong, or fat body : For big men like him, air travel can be uncomfortable.

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fat ²

fat² n

1.) [U]

a substance that is stored under the skin of people and animals, that helps to keep them warm

▪ Rolls of fat bulged over his collar.

▪ I didn't like the meat - there was too much fat on it.

2.) [U and C]

an oily substance contained in certain foods

▪ Cream has a high fat content .

high/low in fat

▪ This cheese is relatively low in fat.

▪ You should think about reducing your fat intake (=the amount of fat you eat) .

high-fat/low-fat

▪ a low-fat diet

→↑saturated fat

3.) [U and C]

an oily substance taken from animals or plants and used in cooking

▪ Place the chicken in the hot fat.

4.) the fat is in the fire

used to say that there will be trouble because of something that has happened

5.) live off the fat of the land

to get enough money to live comfortably without doing much work

6.) run to fat

to start to become fat, especially because you are getting older or do not do much exercise

→chew the fat at ↑chew¹ (4), ↑puppy fat