hog

American  

[hawg, hog] / hɔg, hɒg /

noun

1. a hoofed mammal of the Old World family Suidae, order Artiodactyla, comprising boars and swine.

2. a domesticated swine weighing 120 pounds (54 kilograms) or more, raised for market.

3. a selfish, gluttonous, or filthy person.

4. Slang.

   1. a large, heavy motorcycle.

   2. an impressively large luxury automobile.

5. British. Also hogg,

   1. a sheep about one year old that has not been shorn.

   2. the wool shorn from such a sheep.

   3. any of several other domestic animals, as a bullock, that are one year old.

6. Railroads Slang. a locomotive.

7. a machine for shredding wood.

8. Curling. a stone that stops before reaching the hog score.

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verb (used with object)

hogged, hogging

1. to appropriate selfishly; take more than one's share of.

2. to arch (the back) upward like that of a hog.

3. roach.

4. (in machine-shop practice) to cut deeply into (a metal bar or slab) to reduce it to a shape suitable for final machining.

5. to shred (a piece of wood).

verb (used without object)

hogged, hogging

1. Nautical. (of a hull) to have less than the proper amount of sheer because of structural weakness; arch.

idioms

1. live high off / on the hog, to be in prosperous circumstances. Also eat high off the hog.

2. go the whole hog. see whole hog. Also go whole hog.

hog British  

/ hɒɡ /

noun

1. a domesticated pig, esp a castrated male weighing more than 102 kg

2. any artiodactyl mammal of the family Suidae; pig

3. Also: hogg.  dialect another name for hogget

4. informal a selfish, greedy, or slovenly person

5. nautical a stiff brush, for scraping a vessel's bottom

6. nautical the amount or extent to which a vessel is hogged Compare sag

7. another word for camber

8. slang a large powerful motorcycle

9. informal to do something thoroughly or unreservedly

   if you are redecorating one room, why not go the whole hog and paint the entire house?

10. informal to have an extravagant lifestyle

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verb

1. slang to take more than one's share of

2. to arch (the back) like a hog

3. to cut (the mane) of (a horse) very short

hog More Idioms  

1. see go hog wild; go whole hog; high off the hog; road hog.

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Other Word Forms

• hogger
  noun
• hoglike
  adjective
• unhogged
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of hog

First recorded before 1100; Middle English hoge, Old English hogg; further origin uncertain; perhaps from Celtic; compare Welsh hwch, Cornish hogh “swine”

Explanation

A hog is a pig that's kept on a farm. You can also use the word as a verb, like when you act like a greedy hog. Try not to hog the pie, and stick to your allotted portion. Though the primary definition of a hog is "domesticated pig," it sometimes refers to wild swine, including feral pigs and warthogs. Hogs are fairly intelligent and social animals, and some of their tendencies are dog-like, including wagging their tails to express pleasure. If your brother shoves cake in his mouth, you might call him a hog, or say, "Hey, don't hog the cake!" Hog originally referred to a one year old pig, but also a horse or sheep of a similar age. "Huckleberry Finn" contains the first known use of hog as a verb meaning "consume greedily."

Example Sentences

We're standing in his beautiful Cotswolds stone pub, The Hog at Horsley.

From BBC • Dec. 3, 2025

Cruising on a Hog down an open road, the wind whipping, the sun shining…it’s a tough sell these days.

From Barron's • Oct. 27, 2025

You could see Hog Island Oyster Company across the bay, but there were no sounds.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 7, 2025

Dr. Jessica Harris — the author of "High on the Hog" — attended the dinner, which was the highlight of the evening for Draluck.

From Salon • Nov. 3, 2023

We was terrified of the Grapeshot, which we could hear Strike the Sand — so when we gained Hog Island Shore, we hurled ourselves into a Ditch quivering & there remained.

From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume I: The Pox Party" by M.T. Anderson

Related Words

• boar
• pig
• piglet
• swine