Meaning & use
pamper you
Last updated
Meaning
phrasetransitiveinformal
To treat someone with a lot of care and kindness, often by giving them nice things or letting them relax.
Grammar: Takes a person as object: pamper you, pamper the children. Can be reflexive: pamper yourself.
Patterns
- pamper someone
- pamper yourself
On your birthday, I want to pamper you with breakfast in bed and a day at the spa.
The hotel pampers you with free massages and chocolates on your pillow.
After a hard week, she likes to pamper herself with a long bath and a good book.
Word forms
| third person singular | pampers you |
|---|---|
| past tense | pampered you |
| past participle | pampered you |
| -ing form | pampering you |
Common combinations
- pamper yourself
- Go on, pamper yourself — you deserve it.
- pamper someone with something
- They pampered us with champagne and strawberries.
- pamper someone rotten
- Her grandparents pamper her rotten whenever she visits.
Synonyms and how they differ
- spoil
- Spoil is often used when someone gets too much of what they want, sometimes with a negative feeling; pamper is usually positive and about comfort and care.
- indulge
- Indulge means to allow yourself or someone else something pleasant, often something you shouldn't have; pamper focuses on giving comfort and attention.
- cosset
- Cosset is more literary and suggests protecting someone too much; pamper is everyday and warm.
Opposites
Word family
- pampered adjective
- Describes someone who is used to being treated with special care and comfort.
- pampering noun
- The act of treating someone with special care and kindness.
Commonly confused: pamper you or pamper?
pamper you vs pamper
Pamper is the base verb; 'pamper you' is just the verb with a specific object. Don't write it as one word.
Practice
Choose the correct sentence:
Choose one answer.
Pamper takes a direct object, so 'pampered herself' is correct. The other options use wrong prepositions or word order.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pamper you”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.