The Brief: Chonk, chonky, and chonker are terms for chubby cats that became popular online in summer 2018.

Bluesquiggle
DEEP DIVE

Similar to other silly terms used to describe cute animals (like doggo),Β chonkΒ is a made-up word to classify fat cats. It is not typically used as an insult, but rather as a term of endearment.

The “Chonk Chart” is a popular meme that was originally posted to the Facebook group “THIS CAT IS C H O N K Y” by Emilie Chiang:

Facebook/Emilie Chiang

This chonk just jumped into a box and slep from r/Catloaf

Internet users have also applied the term to other animals: