bacon

¹ American  

[bey-kuhn] / ˈbeɪ kən /

noun

1. the back and sides of the hog, salted and dried or smoked, usually sliced thin and fried for food.

2. Also called white bacon.  South Midland and Southern U.S. pork cured in brine; salt pork.

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idioms

1. bring home the bacon,

   1. to provide for material needs; earn a living.

   2. to accomplish a task; be successful or victorious.

      Our governor went to Washington to appeal for disaster relief and brought home the bacon—$40 million.

2. save one's bacon, to allow one to accomplish a desired end; spare one from injury or loss.

   Quick thinking saved our bacon.

Bacon ² American  

[bey-kuhn] / ˈbeɪ kən /

noun

1. Francis Baron Verulam, Viscount St. Albans, 1561–1626, English essayist, philosopher, and statesman.

2. Francis, 1910–92, English painter, born in Ireland.

3. Henry, 1866–1924, U.S. architect.

4. Nathaniel, 1647–76, American colonist, born in England: leader of a rebellion in Virginia 1676.

5. Roger The Admirable Doctor, 1214?–94?, English philosopher and scientist.

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bacon ¹ British  

/ ˈbeɪkən /

noun

1. meat from the back and sides of a pig, dried, salted, and usually smoked

2. informal

   1. to achieve success

   2. to provide material support

3. informal to help someone to escape from danger

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Bacon ² British  

/ ˈbeɪkən /

noun

1. Francis , Baron Verulam, Viscount St Albans. 1561–1626, English philosopher, statesman, and essayist; described the inductive method of reasoning: his works include Essays (1625), The Advancement of Learning (1605), and Novum Organum (1620)

2. Francis . 1909–92, British painter, born in Dublin, noted for his distorted, richly coloured human figures, dogs, and carcasses

3. Roger . ?1214–92, English Franciscan monk, scholar, and scientist: stressed the importance of experiment, demonstrated that air is required for combustion, and first used lenses to correct vision. His Opus Majus (1266) is a compendium of all the sciences of his age

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Bacon Scientific  

/ bā′kən /

1. English scientist and philosopher who is noted for the wide range of his knowledge and writing on scientific topics. Bacon pioneered the idea that mathematics is fundamental to science and that experimentation is essential to test scientific theories.

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bacon More Idioms  

1. see bring home the bacon; save one's bacon.

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Etymology

Origin of bacon

1300–50; Middle English bacoun < Anglo-French; Old French bacon < Germanic *bakōn- ( Old High German bacho back, ham, bacon) derivative of *baka- back ¹; compare Middle Dutch bake bacon

Example Sentences

Sometimes I’ll make them an egg and bacon sandwich and sometimes it’s just cereal.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 30, 2026

Ultraprocessed foods like soft drinks, bacon and other processed meats, frozen meals, packaged baked goods and packaged savory snacks like chips account for more than 50% of the calories the average American consumes each day.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 23, 2026

There’s also liver with bacon and onions for devotees of classic supper-club cooking.

From Salon • Mar. 10, 2026

I like typical scrambled eggs, bacon, avocado toast and sometimes a bagel.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026

Possibly he didn’t even know what bacon grease was.

From "A Place to Belong" by Cynthia Kadohata

Related Words

• pancetta
• pork