oinks

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of oink.

   A series of contented oinks rose from the muddy sty.

   The sow answered her piglets with soft, repeated oinks.

   Note

   Every grunt counts as one oink, so a run of them takes the ordinary -s plural, whether a pig is making the noise or a person is imitating one. The same spelling also serves as the verb's present form, and only the sentence tells them apart: in "the oinks grew louder" it is a noun, in "the pig oinks" a verb. The interjection uses, including the jab at male chauvinism, stay singular.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of oink.

   The sow oinks softly to call her piglets back to her side.

   Whenever a stranger approaches the gate, the boar oinks in alarm.

   Note

   The verb never takes an object: a pig oinks, but it does not oink anything. So the form stands alone or with an adverb or phrase, as in oinks loudly or oinks at the trough. It covers imitation as well as the animal itself, so a child who oinks at a farm visit uses it just as correctly. The spelling it shares with the plural noun is settled by the sentence around it.

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