margarine

American  

[mahr-jer-in, -juh-reen, mahrj-rin] / ˈmɑr dʒər ɪn, -dʒəˌrin, ˈmɑrdʒ rɪn /

noun

1. a butterlike product made of refined vegetable oils, sometimes blended with animal fats, and emulsified, usually with water or milk.

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margarine British  

/ ˌmɑːdʒəˈriːn, ˌmɑːɡə- /

noun

1. a substitute for butter, prepared from vegetable and animal fats by emulsifying them with water and adding small amounts of milk, salt, vitamins, colouring matter, etc

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Etymology

Origin of margarine

1870–75; from French margarin, a glyceryl ester of margar(ic acid) ( def. ) + -in -ine ²

Explanation

Margarine is a butter substitute that's made from oil. One brand of margarine goes by the name "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter." Try it, and see if you can tell the difference... Margarine looks a lot like butter — it comes in sticks and in a very soft, spreadable form in a tub. Instead of the butterfat from milk being churned until it's solid (the process for making butter), margarine is made by emulsifying (thickly blending) oil with other fats and ingredients that make it creamy. Margarine was invented in the 1860s by a French scientist.

Example Sentences

“Gray raindrops pattered listlessly on the kitchen window, obscuring the thin morning light” as Honor Wilson is found smearing “a dot of margarine across some toast.”

From The Wall Street Journal • May 15, 2026

Polypropylene, labeled as #5 on packaging, is used for yogurt containers, margarine tubs and microwavable trays.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 14, 2026

You can use both margarine and butter for cooking, but Forouhi recommends sometimes swapping them out for oil instead which has less saturated fat in.

From BBC • Oct. 1, 2025

Other common emulsions are inks, ice cream, margarine and hair products, to name just a few.

From Salon • Jan. 2, 2024

Now we can sit in shifts in the dining hall and eat a whole potato; now and then we get a little margarine.

From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper

Related Words

• oil
• shortening