What does "pig" mean?
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
/pɪɡ/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: 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.
- Grammar: pig is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: hog, cop, slob, squealer.
- Useful contrasts: civilian, diet, moderate.
- Usage evidence: I bought a pig in a poke yesterday.
How to use "pig"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "pig" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "pig" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "pig" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "pig" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "pig" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "hog" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "pig", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 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 An earthenware pot or jar Scotland
- 3 Persuade, Identify, GOTV, an electoral technique commonly employed in the United Kingdom. countable, uncountable
- 4 Abbreviation of polyclonal immunoglobulin. abbreviation, alt-of
- 5 domestic swine wordnet
Show 27 more definitions
- 6 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
"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."
- 7 An earthenware pot or jar; An earthenware vessel used as a hot-water bottle Scotland, specifically
- 8 Police in gear. countable, uncountable
- 9 a crude block of metal (lead or iron) poured from a smelting furnace wordnet
- 10 The edible meat of such an animal; pork. uncountable
"Some religions prohibit their adherents from eating pig."
- 11 Acronym of pipe inspection gauge. abbreviation, acronym, alt-of, countable, uncountable
- 12 mold consisting of a bed of sand in which pig iron is cast wordnet
- 13 A light pinkish-red colour, like that of a pig (also called pig pink). uncountable
"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) […]"
- 14 uncomplimentary terms for a policeman wordnet
- 15 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!"
- 16 a person regarded as greedy and pig-like wordnet
- 17 A lecherous or sexist man. countable, derogatory, figuratively, uncountable
"She considered him a pig, as he invariably stared at her bosom when they talked."
- 18 a coarse obnoxious person wordnet
- 19 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."
- 20 An obese person. countable, derogatory, figuratively, uncountable
- 21 A police officer. countable, derogatory, slang, uncountable
"The protester shouted, “Don't give in to the pigs!” as he was arrested."
- 22 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!"
- 23 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."
- 24 The mold in which a block of metal is cast. countable, uncountable
"The pig was cracked, and molten metal was oozing from the side."
- 25 A lead container used for radioactive waste. countable, uncountable
"Taylor also bought a pig—a radiation-shielding container made of thick lead—to stash the most radioactive materials in."
- 26 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."
- 27 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."
- 28 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
- 29 A sixpence. UK, countable, obsolete, slang, uncountable
- 30 A Cadillac car. US, countable, slang, uncountable
- 31 A Harley-Davidson motorcycle. US, countable, slang, uncountable
- 32 The victim of a pig butchering scam. countable, slang, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To give birth.
"The black sow pigged at seven this morning."
- 2 give birth to (piglets) wordnet
- 3 To greedily consume (especially food). intransitive
"They were pigging on the free food at the bar."
- 4 eat greedily wordnet
- 5 To huddle or lie together like pigs, in one bed. intransitive
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 live like a pig, in squalor wordnet
- 7 To live together in a crowded filthy manner. intransitive
- 8 To clean (a pipeline) using a pig (the device). transitive
Proper Noun
- 1 The twelfth of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar.
Example
"I bought a pig in a poke yesterday."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "pig"?
Common synonyms include: hog, cop, slob, squealer, swine, aardvark.
How do you use "pig" in a sentence?
I bought a pig in a poke yesterday.
How do you pronounce "pig"?
Pronounced /pɪɡ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English pigge (“pig, pigling”) (originally a term for a young pig, with adult pigs being swyn (“swine”)), apparently from Old English *picga (attested only in compounds, such as picgbrēad (“mast, pig-fodder”)), from Proto-West Germanic *piggō, *puggō (“piglet”). Compare Middle Dutch pogge, puggen, pigge, pegsken (“pigling”), Middle Low German pugge, pûke (“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". A connection to early modern Dutch bigge (contemporary big (“piglet”)), West Frisian bigge (“pigling”), and similar terms in Middle Low German 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.
Etymology 2
Possibly a transferred use of pig, because the vessel was thought to resemble the animal.