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

E. coli is the field's main "workhorse" says Prof Wallace, who has also genetically engineered it in the lab to turn plastic waste into vanilla flavour and fatberg waste from sewers into perfume.

From BBC • Sep. 25, 2025

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

From Washington Post • May 20, 2021

Workers trying to remove a huge fatberg clogging a Birmingham sewer hope high-pressure jets will tackle the "horrible, gunky mess".

From BBC • May 2, 2021

Combined with fat and grease that has been tipped down sinks, it is already starting to build up into a fatberg.

From The Guardian • Dec. 20, 2019

A routine check in its sewers before Christmas last year revealed the fatberg longer than the Tower of Pisa lurking underneath the town’s seafront road known as the Esplanade.

From New York Times • Oct. 4, 2019