margarine

American  

[mahr-jer-in, -juh-reen, mahrj-rin] / ˈmɑr dʒər ɪn, -dʒəˌrin, ˈmɑrdʒ rɪn /

noun

• margarines
  plural

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

---

margarine British  

/ 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

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• margarines
  plural

---

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

margarine margarines

Between 1942 and 1972, federal figures show the amount of American butter in the market fell from 16.4 to 5 pounds per person, while margarine rose from 2.9 to 11.1 pounds.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2026

“Gray raindrops pattered listlessly on the kitchen window, obscuring the thin morning light” as Honor Wilson is found smearing “a dot of margarine across some toast.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 15, 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

She ordered tea, and three pieces of toast and margarine, and strawberry jam of palest pink.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

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

The report fostered a dietary change that was already underway to replace heart-damaging saturated fats from animals, like butter and lard, with less saturated vegetable-based margarines and other solid vegetable fats.

From New York Times ● Feb. 21, 2022

It's similar to the margarines and butter alternatives I grew up with in its assertive saltiness and flavor.

From Salon ● Jan. 4, 2022

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

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• oil
• shortening

---