fatberg

American  

[fat-burg] / ˈfæt bɜrg /

noun

1. a solid lump in a sewer system consisting of waste that does not break down, as congealed cooking fat, cleansing wipes, and cotton balls.

   Cities must deal with the growing problem of large and small fatbergs that cause sewage backups and street flooding.

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Etymology

Origin of fatberg

First recorded in 2000–05; fat ( def. ) (in the sense “greasy substance”) + (ice)berg ( def. )

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fatberg

The London Museum's new Smithfield Market home will open on 28 November, with Banksy's piranhas, the UK's oldest hand-written document and part of the infamous Whitechapel fatberg all set to go on permanent display.

From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026

"So they stay in one piece, and they gather together with fat, oil, and grease from kitchens, congeal and create a fatberg which causes flooding."

From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2025

Q. How did Swedish plumbers respond to news of Stockholm’s fatberg?

From Washington Post ● May 20, 2021

Thames Water found the fattest fatberg recorded in the UK to date, in Whitechapel, east London, in September 2017.

From The Guardian ● Dec. 20, 2019

A team of 10 scientists welcomed the unusual challenge and carried out a dissection that involved melting down some parts of the fatberg, extracting and identifying the waste materials and even performing DNA sequencing.

From New York Times ● Oct. 4, 2019