pig

Pluralpigs

Formspigs, pigging, pigged

1. 1
   farm animalnouncountable

   A hoofed mammal with bristly skin and a flat snout, especially the farm animal kept for meat; in farming, sometimes a young one.

   A pig can use its snout to dig up roots and grubs.

   The farm raised several pigs alongside its cattle.

   UsageThe meat is usually called pork, and a young one is a piglet.

   Similarhog, swine

   Note

   The everyday name for the animal began as a word for its young. In Middle English, pigge meant a piglet, and the grown beast was swyn, "swine." Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The animal name originally denoted a young pig; Middle English pigge meant piglet, while swyn denoted adult pigs. en.wiktionary.org
2. 2
   porknoununcountable

   The edible meat of a hog, prepared and sold as pork in cuts such as chops and bacon.

   At the luau, guests piled their plates with tender roast pig, rice, and grilled pineapple.

   Some religions forbid eating pig, so the caterer offered chicken and lamb instead.

   UsagePork is the usual word; pig is most common in roast pig and when a whole animal is cooked.

   Similarpork

3. 3
   gorgeverbcolloquialintransitive

   To eat greedily and without restraint, consuming a large amount of food in a short time.

   After the marathon, the runners pigged out at the buffet.

   Whenever exams end, students pig out on junk food for days.

   UsageUsually pig out, with on for the food: pig out on pizza.

   Similargorge, binge, overeat

   Note

   Plain pig on something also occurs, as drinkers pig on the free food at a bar. Thomas Pynchon's Inherent Vice (2009) stretches it past food, with Denis "pigging on the joint," hogging a shared smoke. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Thomas Pynchon wrote Inherent Vice, first published in 2009. en.wikipedia.org
   • The novel's narrator describes Denis as 'pigging on the joint', extending the expression beyond food to smoking. en.wiktionary.org
4. 4
   dirty personnounderogatoryfigurativelycountable or uncountable

   An insulting word for a person regarded as greedy, dirty or untidy, or very fat.

   She refused to share a dorm with such a pig, whose half of the room was always littered with trash.

   The landlord complained that the last tenants were pigs who left grime everywhere.

   UsageOften such a pig; make a pig of yourself means eat too much.

   Similarslob, hog, glutton

5. 5
   police (insult)nounslangderogatorycountable or uncountable

   A hostile, insulting name for a police officer.

   He spat insults as another pig stepped out of the patrol car.

   The crowd jeered, calling the officers pigs as they advanced.

   UsageOften used in the plural, the pigs, to mean the police as a group.

   Similarcop, copper, fuzz, bobby, fed

   Note

   Gil Scott-Heron's "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised" (1970) pictures pigs shooting down brothers. Ulrike Meinhof of West Germany's Red Army Faction urged followers to "kill the pigs," which shows how violent its company can be. Source

   Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 5 facts

   • Gil Scott-Heron wrote "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised". en.wikipedia.org
   • The work was first released in 1970. en.wikipedia.org
   • The lyrics evoke police shooting down brothers. en.wiktionary.org
   • Ulrike Meinhof belonged to the Red Army Faction in West Germany. en.wikipedia.org
   • Meinhof urged followers to "kill the pigs", referring to police officers. en.wiktionary.org
6. 6
   metal blocknouncountable or uncountable

   An oblong block of cast metal, especially iron or lead, formed by pouring molten metal into a mold.

   The foundry poured molten iron into a sand mold, and the finished pig was set aside for later refining.

   At the smelter, molten lead was cast into pigs that were stacked on pallets for shipping.

   Similaringot

   Note

   The name comes from old sand casting beds, where molds branching off a main channel looked like piglets feeding at a sow. In Marcus Clarke's For the Term of His Natural Life (first serialized 1870-72), a great pig of iron serves as ballast in a brig. A pig of iron or a pig of lead names the metal, while the bare plural suits factory talk: pigs riding a conveyor to freight cars. The vessel the metal is poured into shares the name: the casting mold. Source

   Checked 3 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

   • The name derives from traditional casting molds whose branching arrangement resembled piglets suckling a sow. engr.psu.edu
   • Marcus Clarke wrote For the Term of His Natural Life, first serialized in 1870–72. en.wikipedia.org
   • The novel describes a great pig of iron that had served as ballast in a brig. gutenberg.org
   • The casting mold is also called a pig. en.wiktionary.org

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