the back and sides of the hog, salted and dried or smoked, usually sliced thin and fried for food.
Also called white bacon. South Midland and Southern U.S. pork cured in brine; salt pork.
bring home the bacon,
to provide for material needs; earn a living.
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.
save one's bacon, to allow one to accomplish a desired end; spare one from injury or loss.
Quick thinking saved our bacon.
Francis Baron Verulam, Viscount St. Albans, 1561–1626, English essayist, philosopher, and statesman.
Francis, 1910–92, English painter, born in Ireland.
Henry, 1866–1924, U.S. architect.
Nathaniel, 1647–76, American colonist, born in England: leader of a rebellion in Virginia 1676.
Roger The Admirable Doctor, 1214?–94?, English philosopher and scientist.
meat from the back and sides of a pig, dried, salted, and usually smoked
informal
to achieve success
to provide material support
informal to help someone to escape from danger
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)
Francis . 1909–92, British painter, born in Dublin, noted for his distorted, richly coloured human figures, dogs, and carcasses
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
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
Bacon is a thin, salty meat product that's often served beside eggs at breakfast. Some people like their bacon cooked until it's crispy. If you're a vegetarian, you might order a BLT and say, "Hold the bacon, please." Bacon comes from the belly or the sides of a pig, and it's typically swirled with fat, cured or smoked, and very flavorful. The word and the food have been around since at least the early 14th century, from a Proto-Germanic root, bakkon, or "back meat." Since the early 1900s, "bringing home the bacon" has been slang for earning a living.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Here’s another reason to cover up in the thick of tick season this summer: There is a bite that can leave you allergic to burgers, bacon and steak.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 25, 2026
Skip processed meats such as bacon, ham, or sausages.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 21, 2026
Martin said she was planning to sell meat at the show as well as burgers and bacon rolls.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
They found that processed meats, such as bacon, hot dogs and sliced ham, were linked to the highest risk of dementia and cognitive impairment.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026
Lights were already on in the kitchen, and when our neighbor let us in, we could smell bacon cooking.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
A year later, she performed “Holding Out for a Hero,” produced by Steinman and co-written by Dean Pitchford, for the 1984 film classic “Footloose,” starring Kevin Bacon.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
The Bacon Hole discovery came a decade after Nash found a reindeer engraved on the wall of a cave nearby, which was confirmed in 2012 as the then-oldest known rock art in Britain in 2012.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
To give a few examples, Salted Fudge is described as “classic, decadent & dominating,” while Maple Bacon is touted as “sweet, smoky & sigma.”
From Salon ● May 23, 2026
We got a break for the pilot I did at NBC, and I just did a movie with Jessica Williams and Kevin Bacon.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2026
He soon had her calling the ship the Stinky Steward, though she got somewhat wroth with him whenever he called Pretty Bacon.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
