pork barrel

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See synonyms for pork barrel on Thesaurus.com

noun Informal.

a government appropriation, bill, or policy that supplies funds for local improvements designed to ingratiate legislators with their constituents.

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of pork barrel

An Americanism dating back to 1905–10

OTHER WORDS FROM pork barrel

pork-barrel, adjectivepork-bar·rel·ing, adjective, noun

Words nearby pork barrel

porina, porion, Porirua, porism, pork, pork barrel, pork-barreler, pork-barrel legislation, pork belly, porkchop, porkchopper

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use pork barrel in a sentence

Roll the pork over the stuffing, like a jelly roll, until the seam is facing down and the fat back is on top.
Make Carla Hall’s Roasted Pork Loin With Cranberries|Carla Hall|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
While the pork is resting, heat a large, heavy-bottomed pan over medium-high heat.
Make Carla Hall’s Roasted Pork Loin With Cranberries|Carla Hall|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Lay the butterflied pork loin on the cutting board with the fat cap facing down.
Make Carla Hall’s Roasted Pork Loin With Cranberries|Carla Hall|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Veselka layered its latke with pork goulash, and Toloache added beef short rib chorizo.
I Ate Potato Pancakes Til I Plotzed|Emily Shire|December 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Hitchcock's going on about English pork butchers and how best to prepare pork cracklings.
Alfred Hitchcock’s Fade to Black: The Great Director’s Final Days|David Freeman|December 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
One hundred to the right barrel—nothing left for the second barrel!
Gallipoli Diary, Volume I|Ian Hamilton
It wasn't any scruple of mercy, for Hicks was as cold-blooded a brute as ever glanced down a gun-barrel.
Raw Gold|Bertrand W. Sinclair
A Laplander who cannot get Tobacco sucks chips of a barrel or pieces of anything else which has contained it.
Tobacco; Its History, Varieties, Culture, Manufacture and Commerce|E. R. Billings.
In the fall the barrel of his rifle had been so covered with dead leaves and dust that he could not take aim.
Hunting the Lions|R.M. Ballantyne
The second barrel was discharged with no better result, except that a splinter of its horn was knocked off.
Hunting the Lions|R.M. Ballantyne

British Dictionary definitions for pork barrel

pork barrel

noun

slang, mainly US

a bill or project requiring considerable government spending in a locality to the benefit of the legislator's constituents
(as modifier)pork-barrel spending

Word Origin for pork barrel

C20: term originally applied to the Federal treasury considered as a source of lucrative grants

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with pork barrel

pork barrel

Government funding of something that benefits a particular district, whose legislator thereby wins favor with local voters. For example, Our senator knows the value of the pork barrel. This expression alludes to the fatness of pork, equated with political largesse since the mid-1800s. [c. 1900]

pork barrel

Origin of pork barrel

OTHER WORDS FROM pork barrel

Words nearby pork barrel

Words related to pork barrel

How to use pork barrel in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pork barrel

Word Origin for pork barrel

Other Idioms and Phrases with pork barrel