plural dumplings
1
a
: a small mass of dough cooked by boiling or steaming
chicken soup with dumplings
b
: a casing of dough enclosing a typically savory filling (such as meat or seafood) and cooked usually by boiling, steaming, or pan-frying see gyoza, pot sticker, wonton
c
: a usually baked dessert of fruit wrapped in dough
apple dumplings
2
: something soft and rounded like a dumpling
especially
: a plump person or animal often of short stature
I wanted to do it [rowing] because it was something I had never heard of. I was a little dumpling as well. I wanted to lose weight. —Spencer Turrin, quoted in The Daily Telegraph (England)
Cite this Entry
“Dumpling.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dumpling. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.
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