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ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

pig.

Any of several mammalian species of the family Suidae, having cloven hooves, bristles and a snout adapted for digging; especially the domesticated animal Sus domesticus.

3 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈpɪɡ/[ˈpʰɪɡ]
  1. Any of several mammalian species of the family Suidae, having cloven hooves, bristles and a snout adapted for digging; especially the domesticated animal Sus domesticus.

    countable
    The man kept a pen with two pigs that he fed everything from carrots to cabbage.
  2. Any of several mammalian species of the family Suidae, having cloven hooves, bristles and a snout adapted for digging; especially the domesticated animal Sus domesticus. A young swine, a piglet (contrasted with a hog, an adult swine).

    countable · specifically · uncountable
  3. The edible meat of such an animal; pork.

    uncountable
    Some religions prohibit their adherents from eating pig.
  4. A light pinkish-red colour, like that of a pig (also called piggy pink).

    uncountable
  5. A person: Someone who overeats or eats rapidly and noisily.

    countable · derogatory · figuratively · uncountable
    You gluttonous pig! Now that you've eaten all the cupcakes, there will be none for the party!
  6. A person: A lecherous or sexist man.

    countable · derogatory · figuratively · uncountable
    She considered him a pig, as he invariably stared at her bosom when they talked.
  7. A person: A dirty or slovenly person.

    countable · derogatory · figuratively · uncountable
    He was a pig and his apartment a pigpen; take-away containers and pizza boxes in a long, moldy stream lined his counter tops.
  8. A person: An obese person.

    countable · derogatory · figuratively · uncountable
  9. A person: A police officer.

    countable · derogatory · figuratively · slang · uncountable
    The protester shouted, “Don't give in to the pigs!” as he was arrested.
  10. A difficult problem.

    countable · informal · uncountable
    Hrm... this one's a real pig: I've been banging my head against the wall over it for hours!
    Chewing-gum is a pig to get out of your hair.
  11. An oblong block of cast metal (now only iron or lead).

    countable · uncountable
    The conveyor carried the pigs from the smelter to the freight cars.
  12. The mold in which a block of metal is cast.

    countable · uncountable
    The pig was cracked, and molten metal was oozing from the side.
  13. A lead container used for radioactive waste.

    countable · uncountable
  14. A device for cleaning or inspecting the inside of an oil or gas pipeline, or for separating different substances within the pipeline. Named for the pig-like squealing noise made by their progress.

    countable · uncountable
    Unfortunately, the pig sent to clear the obstruction got lodged in a tight bend, adding to the problem.
  15. The general-purpose M60 machine gun, considered to be heavy and bulky.

    US · countable · slang · uncountable
    Unfortunately, the M60 is about twenty-four pounds and is very unbalanced. You try carrying the pig around the jungle and see how you feel.
  16. A simple dice game in which players roll the dice as many times as they like, either accumulating a greater score or losing previous points gained.

    uncountable
  17. A sixpence.

    UK · countable · obsolete · slang · uncountable
  18. A Cadillac car.

    US · countable · slang · uncountable
  19. A Harley-Davidson motorcycle.

    US · countable · slang · uncountable
  20. The victim of a pig butchering scam.

    countable · slang · uncountable
Where this word comes from

From Middle English pigge (“pig, piglet”) (originally a term for a young pig, with adult pigs being swyn (“swine”)), from Old English *picga, *pycga (attested in picgbrēad (“mast, pig-fodder”)), perhaps a diminutive of Proto-West Germanic *puk, *pūk (“pig”), which also gave rise to Middle Low German pûke, puyke (“pig, piglet”). Pokorny suggests this root might be somehow related to *bū-, *bew- (“to blow; swell”), which could account for the alternation between "pig" and "big". Compare Middle Dutch pogge, puggen, pigge, pegsken (> dialectal Dutch pogge (“piglet”)), Middle Low German pugge (> Westphalian German Low German Pogge, Pugge, Püggsken (“pig, piglet”)). A connection to early modern Dutch bigge (modern Dutch big (“piglet”)), West Frisian bigge (“piglet”), German Low German Bigge, Bigg (“piglet”), and Saterland Frisian Bikkie (“piggy”) is sometimes proposed, "but the phonology is difficult". Some sources say the words are "almost certainly not" related, others consider a relation "probable, but not certain". The slang sense of "police officer" is attested since at least 1785.

verb/ˈpɪɡ/[ˈpʰɪɡ]
  1. To give birth.

    The black sow pigged at seven this morning.
  2. To greedily consume (especially food).

    intransitive
    They were pigging on the free food at the bar.
  3. To huddle or lie together like pigs, in one bed.

    intransitive
  4. To live together in a crowded filthy manner.

    intransitive
  5. To clean (a pipeline) using a pig (the device).

    transitive
Where this word comes from

From Middle English pigge (“pig, piglet”) (originally a term for a young pig, with adult pigs being swyn (“swine”)), from Old English *picga, *pycga (attested in picgbrēad (“mast, pig-fodder”)), perhaps a diminutive of Proto-West Germanic *puk, *pūk (“pig”), which also gave rise to Middle Low German pûke, puyke (“pig, piglet”). Pokorny suggests this root might be somehow related to *bū-, *bew- (“to blow; swell”), which could account for the alternation between "pig" and "big". Compare Middle Dutch pogge, puggen, pigge, pegsken (> dialectal Dutch pogge (“piglet”)), Middle Low German pugge (> Westphalian German Low German Pogge, Pugge, Püggsken (“pig, piglet”)). A connection to early modern Dutch bigge (modern Dutch big (“piglet”)), West Frisian bigge (“piglet”), German Low German Bigge, Bigg (“piglet”), and Saterland Frisian Bikkie (“piggy”) is sometimes proposed, "but the phonology is difficult". Some sources say the words are "almost certainly not" related, others consider a relation "probable, but not certain". The slang sense of "police officer" is attested since at least 1785.

noun
  1. An earthenware pot or jar

    Scotland
  2. An earthenware pot or jar An earthenware vessel used as a hot-water bottle

    Scotland · specifically
Where this word comes from

Possibly a transferred use of pig, because the vessel was thought to resemble the animal.

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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.