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Glite Dictionary
pup tent

pup tent

3 4.7
A small tent shaped like a triangle used for camping or by soldiers
  • noun
  • /pʌp tɛnt/
  • Archaic
translation icon : tienda de campaña
  • I set up my pup tent near the lake for a weekend of camping.
  • pitch a pup tent
  • sleeping in a pup tent

Examples

  • The soldier quickly pitched his pup tent before the rain started.

  • We were in a pup tent in his backyard, and it was just after a spring rain, and the earthworms began popping up from the clean-smelling ground.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • It's my old pup tent.

    A Walk in the Woods (2015)

  • One night, I was sleeping in my pup tent with my younger brother.

    The Sure Thing (1985)

  • We'll bring along that new sealskin pup tent we've been meaning to use.

    Fiction book (1995)

  • I do remember my friend Julie and me camping out and sleeping in a pup tent on John o' Groats.

    Blog text (14)

  • I am relieved to see two pup tents marked STAFF in red letters side by side behind the larger tents.

    Fiction book (2002)

  • He was a self-appointed forest ranger, and we lived in a pup tent in a national park.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • Forrest lies in a pup tent and writes a letter as the rain pours down.

    Fiction book (1994)

  • Across the road, a colorful mass of pup tents and campers among creosote bushes marked the Peace Camp, where protesters had lived off and on for several years.

    Fiction book (1993)

Synonyms

tent
vspup tent
514 1.0

A shelter of cloth and poles that people sleep in outside

is the smaller wedge form without floor or windows
shelter tent
vspup tent
3.7

A small tent shaped like a triangle without a floor that gives temporary cover outdoors

is used similarly but often associated with military use
pop tent
vspup tent
3.8

A small, light tent that opens quickly and is easy to carry

is wedge shaped and emphasizes small simple shelter rather than fast setup
pack tent
vspup tent
3.4

A small light shelter you carry in a backpack when camping

is wedge shaped and often used by military not focused on portability
backpacking tent
vspup tent
3.3

A lightweight tent you carry in a backpack for multi-day hikes

is oriented to small wedge shelter use not specifically for long hikes

How Small

pup tent
  • Archaic
3 4.7
single bed
  • UK
5 1.0
two-man tent
1 2.1
yurt
10 8.1

Surface Forms

pup tent singular
pup tents plural

Morphology

pup + tent

A B1 learner who knows 'pup' (a young/small animal) and 'tent' can plausibly infer that a 'pup tent' is a small or diminutive tent, so the core meaning is partly recoverable from the constituents. However, the specific sense (wedge-shaped, often military or two-person, and lacking a floor/windows) is not directly predictable from 'pup' + 'tent', and the diminutive use of 'pup' is somewhat figurative rather than a productive compositional pattern.

Etymology

Pup tent probably comes from its small size because soldiers said the tiny, low shelter looked like a sleeping pup, a young dog, on the ground. That's why pup tent means 'a very small, lightweight tent' today.