swine
Americannoun
PLURAL
swine-
any stout, cloven-hoofed artiodactyl of the Old World family Suidae, having a thick hide sparsely covered with coarse hair, a disklike snout, and an often short, tasseled tail: now of worldwide distribution and hunted or raised for its meat and other products.
-
the domestic hog, Sus scrofa.
-
a coarse, gross, or brutishly sensual person.
-
a contemptible person.
noun
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a coarse or contemptible person
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another name for a pig
Other Word Forms
- swinelike adjective
- swinish adjective
- swinishly adverb
- swinishness noun
Etymology
Origin of swine
before 900; Middle English; Old English swīn; cognate with German Schwein hog, Latin suīnus (adj.) porcine; akin to sow 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Zoetis saw a particularly steep decline in revenue for its swine and poultry medications.
From Barron's
Zoetis saw a particularly steep decline in revenue for its swine and poultry medicines.
From Barron's
Taiwan has culled dozens of pigs after detecting its first cases of African swine fever, with the agriculture ministry saying Thursday no other infections have been detected elsewhere on the island.
From Barron's
The same goes for pigs — a single case was found among five backyard pigs in October in a non-commercial operation where swine mixed with poultry and other livestock.
From Salon
Human respiratory physiology is more like that of swines than felines.
From Salon
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
