fur baby

Meaning

1. 1nouncountableinformal

   A pet, usually a dog or cat, treated with the love and care one would give a child.

   Grammar: Often used with my or our: my fur baby, our fur babies.

   Patterns

   • someone's fur baby
   • spoil a fur baby

   Our fur baby sleeps on the sofa and gets a birthday cake every year.

   She took a day off work because her fur baby was sick.

   They posted a photo of their new fur baby wearing a tiny raincoat.

Word forms

Common combinations

spoil your fur baby

He loves to spoil his fur baby with expensive treats.

adopt a fur baby

We adopted a fur baby from the shelter last spring.

my fur baby

I can't leave my fur baby alone all day.

new fur baby

Meet our new fur baby, a very sleepy kitten.

fur baby parent

As a proud fur baby parent, she buys organic food for her dog.

Synonyms and how they differ

pet

Pet is the neutral word, while fur baby stresses that the animal is loved like a family member.

companion animal

Companion animal is a formal phrase used by vets and charities, whereas fur baby is playful and personal.

pooch

Pooch only refers to a dog and sounds casual, but it does not carry the child-like affection of fur baby.

Word family

fur noun

the soft hair covering many animals

furry adjective

covered with fur

baby noun

a very young child

fur parent noun

an owner who treats a pet like a child

Practice

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “fur baby”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

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