lard

American  

[lahrd] / lɑrd /

noun

1. the rendered fat of hogs, especially the internal fat of the abdomen.

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verb (used with object)

lards, present (3rd person singular) larded, past participle, past larding present participle

1. to apply lard or grease to.

2. to prepare or enrich (lean meat, chicken, etc.) with pork or fat, especially with lardons.

3. to supplement or enrich with something for improvement or ornamentation.

   a literary work larded with mythological allusions.

lard British  

/ lɑːd /

noun

1. the rendered fat from a pig, esp from the abdomen, used in cooking

2. informal excess fat on a person's body

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verb

1. to prepare (lean meat, poultry, etc) by inserting small strips of bacon or fat before cooking

2. to cover or smear (foods) with lard

3. to add extra material to (speech or writing); embellish

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• lardlike
  adjective
• well-larded
  adjective
• overlard
  verb (used with object)
• unlarded
  adjective

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have larded
  perfect
• has larded
  perfect 3rd person singular
• have been larding
  perfect progressive
• are larding
  progressive
• has been larding
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• is larding
  progressive 3rd person singular
• am larding
  progressive 1st person singular
• larding
  participle
• lards
  singular 3rd person

Past

• had larded
  perfect
• had been larding
  perfect progressive
• were larding
  progressive plural
• larded
  participle
• was larding
  progressive singular
• larded
  simple

Future

• will lard
  simple
• will have larded
  perfect
• will be larding
  progressive
• will have been larding
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of lard

1300–50; Middle English (v.), late Middle English (noun) < Middle French larder (v.), lard (noun) < Latin lār ( i ) dum bacon fat; akin to Greek lārīnós fat (adj.)

Explanation

Lard is rendered animal fat that's used for cooking. Although many bakers use butter or vegetable shortening in their pie crust, others swear by the rich flavor of lard. Lard is a white fat that comes from pigs. In some places, it's not uncommon to spread lard on bread instead of butter, and many cooks appreciate its ability to get extremely hot without burning and its savory flavor. Lard is also commonly used as a verb to mean "fill with unnecessary details," the way a student might lard an essay with impressive vocabulary words to disguise the fact that it was hastily written right before class.

Example Sentences

In many cases, those diets derived 60% of calories from lard, which does not accurately reflect typical human eating habits and makes it difficult to determine the effects of individual fatty acids.

From Science Daily • Jun. 2, 2026

"We just put lard on them and it takes off. I'm laughing, but it's how it is," he told AFP during a visit of the company factory.

From Barron's • Feb. 16, 2026

I couldn’t resist their stacked ensaimada, a coiled Mallorcan pastry enriched with lard, usually powdered with sugar and served for breakfast.

From Salon • Dec. 6, 2025

It is the job of the sports columnist to be ridiculous, to lard on sweaty superlatives and routinely declare the regrettable, but once in a while, we get it right.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 23, 2025

It fell flat on the big vat of lard and by noontime during the summer the grease had softened to a thick soup.

From "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" by Maya Angelou

Related Words

• grease
• shortening