margarine
Americannoun
-
margarines
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of margarine
1870–75; from French margarin, a glyceryl ester of margar(ic acid) ( def. ) + -in -ine 2
Explanation
Margarine is a butter substitute that's made from oil. One brand of margarine goes by the name "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter." Try it, and see if you can tell the difference... Margarine looks a lot like butter — it comes in sticks and in a very soft, spreadable form in a tub. Instead of the butterfat from milk being churned until it's solid (the process for making butter), margarine is made by emulsifying (thickly blending) oil with other fats and ingredients that make it creamy. Margarine was invented in the 1860s by a French scientist.
Vocabulary lists containing margarine
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.
See Examples For:
They allowed oil-deprived Nazi Germany to turn coal into fuel and even margarine in World War II. The same core technology is used to produce transportation fuel in coal-rich South Africa.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 30, 2026
Polypropylene, labeled as #5 on packaging, is used for yogurt containers, margarine tubs and microwavable trays.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 14, 2026
You can use both margarine and butter for cooking, but Forouhi recommends sometimes swapping them out for oil instead which has less saturated fat in.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2025
And finally, it revokes pre-1958 authorization for using PHOs in margarine, shortening, bread, rolls and buns.
From Salon ● Aug. 16, 2023
Behind the margarine, I see a jar of applesauce.
From "Ninth Ward" by Jewell Parker Rhodes
Two types of processed hard fats commonly found in foods like baked goods, margarines, and spreads appear to have little impact on heart health when eaten in realistic amounts.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 28, 2025
That's because it used to contain harmful trans fats which are strongly linked with cardiovascular disease but modern day margarines "have close to zero amounts of trans fats" according to Forouhi.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2025
However, most people consume seed oils in larger amounts through processed foods such as biscuits, cakes, chips, muesli bars, muffins, dipping sauces, deep-fried foods, salad dressings and margarines.
From Salon ● Feb. 21, 2024
Finally, trans fatty acids found in some processed foods, including some stick and tub margarines, are thought to be even more harmful to the heart and blood vessels than saturated fatty acids.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
I said, "I need one Crisco, four margarines, pareve, and let’s have all your paper towels."
From "The View From Saturday" by E.L. Konigsburg
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.
