Dictionary.com
definitions

hogwash

[ hawg-wosh, -wawsh, hog- ]
/ ˈhɔgˌwɒʃ, -ˌwɔʃ, ˈhɒg- /
|
SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR hogwash ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

refuse given to hogs; swill.
any worthless stuff.
meaningless or insincere talk, writing, etc.; nonsense; bunk.

RELATED CONTENT

Dinger And Other Trending Words On Dictionary.comFrom the diamond to the big screen to the Beltway, here's a look at what sent folks scurrying to Dictionary.com this week!
READ MORE

RELATED WORDS

refuse, absurdity, bunk, baloney, hooey, foolishness, drivel, debris, rubbish, bull, balderdash, ridiculousness, trash, rot, twaddle, poppycock, BS, hokum, horsefeathers

Nearby words

hogshead, hogtie, hogtown, hogue, hogue, la, hogwash, hogweed, hogwood, hoha, hohe tauern, hohenlinden

Origin of hogwash

1400–50; 1900–05 for def 2; late Middle English. See hog, wash
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for hogwash

  • Wot's the good of your ladlin' out that hogwash about huntin'?

    Snow-Bound at Eagle's|Bret Harte

  • Hogwash was beaten and so were all the favourites, and an outsider had won.

    Uncle Joe's Stories|Edward Hugessen Knatchbull-Hugesson, First Baron Brabourne

  • My friends, I have heard the vows which Paaker has poured out over our pure altars, like hogwash that men set before swine.

    Uarda, Complete|Georg Ebers

British Dictionary definitions for hogwash

hogwash

/ (ˈhɒɡˌwɒʃ) /

noun

informal nonsense
pigswill
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for hogwash

hogwash

n.

mid-15c., "slops fed to pigs," from hog (n.) + wash (n.). Extended to "cheap liquor" (1712) then to "inferior writing" (1773).

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper