margarine

[mahr-jer-in, -juh-reen, mahrj-rin]

noun

1. a butterlike product made of refined vegetable oils, sometimes blended with animal fats, and emulsified, usually with water or milk.

margarine

/ ˌmɑːdʒəˈriːn, ˌmɑːɡə- /

noun

1. a substitute for butter, prepared from vegetable and animal fats by emulsifying them with water and adding small amounts of milk, salt, vitamins, colouring matter, etc

Word History and Origins

Origin of margarine¹

1870–75; from French margarin, a glyceryl ester of margar(ic acid) ( def. ) + -in -ine ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of margarine¹

C19: from _margaric

Example Sentences

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.

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Industrial amounts of ordinary consumer goods like salt or margarine are banned, preventing local production using ordinary ingredients.

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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.

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"Ohh boy, it's the same thing as butter or margarine. Now go do your homework; I'm busy."

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Other common emulsions are inks, ice cream, margarine and hair products, to name just a few.

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Related Words

• oil 
• shortening