Meaning & use
stuffie stuffed animal
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Meanings
nouncountableinformal
A soft toy shaped like an animal and filled with soft material, often a child's favorite comfort object.
Grammar: Countable: say a stuffie, two stuffies; the longer phrase takes the same pattern: a stuffed animal, several stuffed animals.
Patterns
- a stuffie stuffed animal
- sleep with a stuffie stuffed animal
- a collection of stuffie stuffed animals
My niece takes her stuffie stuffed animal everywhere, even to the doctor's office.
He lined up every stuffie stuffed animal on the bed before going to sleep.
The shop sells stuffie stuffed animals in the shape of bears, rabbits, and whales.
nouncountable
A toy animal made of cloth and filled with soft stuffing, sold in toy shops.
Grammar: This is the neutral everyday term; it is the one to use in school writing or when you are not sure which word fits.
Patterns
- buy a stuffed animal
- a stuffed animal for a child
- a stuffed animal collection
She won a stuffed animal at the fair and named it after her cat.
The museum shop had stuffed animals of every animal in the exhibit.
He gave his little brother a stuffed animal for his birthday.
Word forms
| plural | stuffie stuffed animals |
|---|
Common combinations
- cuddly stuffie
- The baby fell asleep holding a cuddly stuffie.
- sleep with a stuffed animal
- Many children sleep with a stuffed animal until they are quite old.
- a stuffed animal collection
- Her stuffed animal collection fills two shelves.
- soft toy
- In British shops you will more often see the label soft toy.
Synonyms and how they differ
- soft toy
- The usual British term for the same object; it sounds slightly more neutral and adult than "stuffie."
- plush toy
- A more commercial or technical word for toys with a fuzzy surface, common in shop listings.
- teddy bear
- Only for the bear-shaped kind, not for a stuffed animal of any other shape.
Word family
Commonly confused: stuffie stuffed animal or stuffy? stuffie stuffed animal or stuffed?
stuffie stuffed animal vs stuffy
Stuffy means a room with poor fresh air, or a person who is dull and formal; it is not a toy.
stuffie stuffed animal vs stuffed
Stuffed describes the filling, not the toy itself: a stuffed animal is a toy, but stuffed peppers are food.
Practice
Which sentence uses the informal word "stuffie" in a natural way?
Choose one answer.
"Stuffie" is an informal noun for a soft toy, so hugging one before sleep fits. Option 1 confuses it with "stuff" as a cooking verb, option 2 uses it for a real car, and option 3 confuses it with the adjective "stuffy."
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “stuffie stuffed animal”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.