Word.ws English Dictionary

pig

/ˈpɪɡ/

pig noun: 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.

pig: any of several mammalian species of the family Suidae, having cloven hooves, bristles and a snout...
Image: Scott Bauer, USDA, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

pig (countable and uncountable, plural pigs)

  1. (countable) 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.
    • The man kept a pen with two pigs that he fed everything from carrots to cabbage.
    • […]and at the back a rambling courtledge of barns and walls, around which pigs and bare-foot children grunted in loving communion of dirt.1855, Charles Kingsley, “How Salvation Yeo Slew the King of the Gubbings”, in Westward Ho!: Or, The Voyages and Adventures of Sir Amyas Leigh, Knight, […], volume II, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire...
    Synonyms:
    hog, suid, swine
    1. (specifically) A young swine, a piglet (contrasted with a hog, an adult swine).
      • Weanlings grow into feeder pigs, and feeder pigs grow into slaughter hogs. […] Ultimately the end use for virtually all pigs and hogs is to be slaughtered for the production of pork and other products.2005 April, Live Swine from Canada, Investigation No. 731-TA-1076 (Final), publication 3766, April 2005, U.S. International Trade Commission, →ISBN, page I-9
  2. (uncountable) The edible meat of such an animal; pork.
    • Some religions prohibit their adherents from eating pig.
    • "Miss Chastene, could you fetch me out an extra plate of pig and biscuit. My partner can't do without your marvelous cooking."2005, Ross Eddy Osborn, Thorns of a Tainted Rose, →ISBN, page 196
  3. (uncountable) A light pinkish-red colour, like that of a pig (also called piggy pink).
    • So far on the streets there's been a lot of metallic pink (the kind of pink as in the shade of pig you get, and this is exactly the shade of the diary I've been writing in) […]2019, Bee Smith, Queen Bee's Party
  4. (derogatory, figuratively) Someone who overeats or eats rapidly and noisily.
    • You gluttonous pig! Now that you've eaten all the cupcakes, there will be none for the party!
    • When you figure out the maze and get to the middle, that's when you get your free cocoa. It's on a table in two big thermos jugs, and there's cups and a ladle, and the sign says, "One cup per customer, PLEASE!" because some people are pigs.2008, Wally Lamb, The Hour I First Believed, Ch.4, at p.86
  5. (derogatory, figuratively) A lecherous or sexist man.
    • She considered him a pig, as he invariably stared at her bosom when they talked.
  6. (derogatory, figuratively) A dirty or slovenly person.
    • He was a pig and his apartment a pigpen; take-away containers and pizza boxes in a long, moldy stream lined his counter tops.
  7. (derogatory, figuratively) An obese person.
    Synonyms:
    All are derogatory unless otherwise labeled, butterball, chod, chodder, chubbs, chubster, chunker, chunky monkey, elephant, fat
  8. (derogatory, figuratively, slang) A police officer.
    • The protester shouted, “Don't give in to the pigs!” as he was arrested.
    • There will be no pictures of pigs shooting down brothers on the instant replay1971, Gil Scott-Heron, “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised”
  9. (informal) A difficult problem.
    • 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.
  10. An oblong block of cast metal (now only iron or lead).
    • The conveyor carried the pigs from the smelter to the freight cars.
    • Standing near the side, he had observed Rex and Fair bring up a great pig of iron, erst used as part of the ballast of the brig, and poise it on the rail.1874, Marcus Clarke, For the Term of His Natural Life, Penguin, published 2009, page 138
  11. The mold in which a block of metal is cast.
    • The pig was cracked, and molten metal was oozing from the side.
  12. A lead container used for radioactive waste.
    • Taylor also bought a pig—a radiation-shielding container made of thick lead—to stash the most radioactive materials in.2015, Tom Clynes, The Boy Who Played with Fusion, page 36
    • Forceps and a lead container (called a pig) that are routinely placed in the room are used to retrieve and contain the source.2015, Adrianne Dill Linton, Introduction to Medical-Surgical Nursing, page 394
Show 7 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. 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.
    • Unfortunately, the pig sent to clear the obstruction got lodged in a tight bend, adding to the problem.
  2. (US, slang) The general-purpose M60 machine gun, considered to be heavy and bulky.
    • 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.
  3. (uncountable) 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.
  4. (UK, obsolete, slang) A sixpence.
    Synonyms:
    sow's baby
  5. (US, slang) A Cadillac car.
  6. (US, slang) A Harley-Davidson motorcycle.
  7. (slang) The victim of a pig butchering scam.

Verb

pig (third-person singular simple present pigs, present participle pigging, simple past and past participle pigged)

  1. To give birth.
    • The black sow pigged at seven this morning.
  2. (intransitive) To greedily consume (especially food).
    • They were pigging on the free food at the bar.
    • "Wow, Doc. That's heavy." Denis sat there pigging on the joint as usual.2009, Thomas Pynchon, Inherent Vice, Vintage, published 2010, page 349
  3. (intransitive) To huddle or lie together like pigs, in one bed.
  4. (intransitive) To live together in a crowded filthy manner.
  5. (transitive) To clean (a pipeline) using a pig (the device).

Noun (2)

pig (plural pigs)

  1. (Scotland) An earthenware pot or jar
    Synonyms:
    pigg
    1. (Scotland, specifically) An earthenware vessel used as a hot-water bottle

Noun (3) capitalized: PIG

PIG (countable and uncountable, plural PIGs)

  1. Persuade, Identify, GOTV, an electoral technique commonly employed in the United Kingdom.
  2. Police in gear.
  3. (abbreviation, acronym) Acronym of pipe inspection gauge.

Proper noun capitalized: Pig

Pig

  1. The twelfth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar.

Noun (4) capitalized: pIg

pIg (plural pIgs)

  1. (abbreviation) Abbreviation of polyclonal immunoglobulin.

pig meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

pig in Hindi

mammal of family Suidae
सूअर sūar
nasty or disgusting person
सूअर sūar

pig in Tamil

mammal of family Suidae
பன்றி paṉṟi
someone who overeats or eats rapidly
பன்றி paṉṟi, பன்னி paṉṉi

pig in Marathi

mammal of family Suidae
डुकर ḍukar

pig in Urdu

mammal of family Suidae
سُؤَر suar, خُوک xūk, خِنْزِیر xinzīr
More languagesFewer languages
pig in Bengali
শূকর śukor, শুওর śuōr, শুয়ার śuẏar, শুয়োর śuẏōr
pig in Telugu
పంది pandi, సూకరము sūkaramu
pig in Malayalam
പന്നി panni, കിടി kiṭi
pig in Kannada
ಹಂದಿ handi
pig in Punjabi
ਸੂਰ sūr, سُور sūr
pig in Gujarati
ડુક્કર ḍukkar, શૂકર śūkar
pig in Odia
ଘୁଷୁରି ghuṣuri, ଘୁଷୁରିଛୁଆ ghuṣurichuā
pig in Sanskrit
सूकर sūkara
pig in Sinhala
ඌරා ūrā
pig in Assamese
গাহৰি gahori
pig in Nepali
सुँगुर sũgura
pig in Pashto
خنځير xanjir, خوګ xug, سور sur, سوډر soḍër
pig in Tagalog
baboy
pig in Arabic
خِنْزِير ḵinzīr, حَلُوف ḥalūf, خنزير ḵanzīr, حلوف ḥalūf
pig in Malay
babi, khinzir
pig in Indonesian
babi
pig in Persian
خُوک xūk, خُوگ xūg, خِنْزِیر xinzīr, خوک xuk
pig in Thai
หมู mǔu
pig in Vietnamese
heo, lợn, cúi
pig in Myanmar
ဝက် wak
Dhivehi
އޫރު ūru, އޫރުތައް ūrutak̊

Examples of pig in a sentence

  • The bank robberies went on and each raid became more bloody, Meinhof encouraging her followers to “kill the pigs” offering the slightest resistance, referring to policemen.1990, Jay Robert Nash, Encyclopedia of World Crime: Volume 1: A-C, page 198:
  • Those in front resumed their taunts of “Pig, pig, fascist pig,” and “pigs eat shit, pigs eat shit.” The rest of the crowd, however, backed off and sat down on the grass when reinforcements arrived.2008, Frank Kusch, Battleground Chicago: The Police and the 1968 Democratic National Convention, page 63:
  • But me, I joined the party to fight the pigs.2011, T. J. English, The Savage City: Race, Murder and a Generation on the Edge, unnumbered page:

All 40 example sentences with pig

Synonyms of pig

30 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of pig

Forms of pig

Noun
pluralpigs
pluralPIGs
alternative formP.I.G.
pluralpIgs
Verb
third-person singular presentpigs
present participlepigging
past participlepigged
pastpigged

Plural of pig: pigs

Origin of pig

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.

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

Words formed from pig

Phrases with pig

115 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with pig

25 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about pig

What does pig mean?
Pig means 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.
What is pig in Hindi?
Pig in Hindi is सूअर (sūar). See Pig meaning in Hindi.
How do you use pig in a sentence?
The bank robberies went on and each raid became more bloody, Meinhof encouraging her followers to “kill the pigs” offering the slightest resistance, referring to policemen.
What part of speech is pig?
Pig can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce pig?
Pig is pronounced /ˈpɪɡ/.
What is the plural of pig?
The plural of pig is pigs.

Words near pig in the dictionary

  1. piffy on a rock bun
  2. pifithrin
  3. pifithrins
  4. piflufolastat
  5. PIFS
  6. pig
  7. Pig and Potato War
  8. Pig and Tinderbox
  9. pig ark
  10. pig arks
  11. pig bank

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: pig (page history and authors); PIG (page history and authors); Pig (page history and authors); pIg (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-pig.ogg, en-au-pig.ogg, Pronunciation example of the word Pig in British English.ogg.

Cite this entry: “pig.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/pig. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.