oink
Americanverb (used without object)
noun
interjection
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of oink
First recorded in 1940–45; imitative
Explanation
An oink is the sound a pig makes. If you're on the hunt for your neighbor's run-away piglets, be sure to listen carefully for oinks. In Japanese, pigs "buu," in German they "grunz," and in Swedish they "nöff." In English, however, we describe the sound pigs make as an oink and we say that when they make this noise, they oink. All of these words are imitative, each language's best imitation of the grunting-squeaking-squeal that's unique to our porcine pals.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
With an oink oink oink and a boink boink boink,
From Slate ● Oct. 11, 2018
And an oink boink boink and a boink oink oink,
From Slate ● Oct. 11, 2018
The print Post vs. a pound of scrapple: One uses a lot of ink, the other a lot of oink.
From Washington Post ● Jul. 12, 2018
I’d even figure out how to cook the oink if I could get my hands on it.
From New York Times ● Apr. 14, 2017
Isaiah hopped onto his hands and knees to oink like a pig once more, to laughter and even more applause.
From "George" by Alex Gino
Pigs are noisy creatures, from their contented oinks to their terrified squeals.
From Washington Post ● Mar. 13, 2022
Decoding the emotions behind those oinks could soon become a little easier.
From New York Times ● Mar. 9, 2022
But as the distance began to lesson between the 30 to 50 feral hogs and the giant slingshot, they relapsed into silence, realizing they could barely be heard over the chorus of oinks.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2019
The eight pages of “Winter in the Abruzzi” may be the most beautiful piece of work Ginzburg ever produced, full of oinks and smells, fellowship and cruelty.
From The New Yorker ● Jul. 22, 2019
The new Aardman Animations movie "Shaun the Sheep" contains woofs, oinks and bleats aplenty.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 4, 2015
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
