porky
1 Americannoun
adjective
-
belonging to or characteristic of pork
a porky smell
-
informal fat; obese
noun
Usage
What does porky mean? Porky is used to describe food as having the flavor of pork (the meat from a pig), as in The bacon gives the dish a nice porky flavor. This sense of the word can be applied to dishes that have a prominent pork flavor or to pork itself when its flavor is strong, as in I think a lot of sausage is bland, but this is so flavorful—really nice and porky. The word porky can also be used as a way to call someone chubby. This may be intended to be funny, but it’s always insulting to compare someone to a pig. In the U. S., porky is used in some places as a slang term for porcupine. In the U. K., porky is used as a slang term meaning a lie, as in I think he’s telling a porky. Example: I like my ramen to be extra porky, so I doubled the amount of pork belly in it.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of porky1
First recorded in 1850–55; pork + -y 1
Origin of porky2
An Americanism dating back to 1900–05; porc(upine) + -y 2
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.
"I thought: 'Uh-oh. David’s told me a porky pie here,'" Underwood says.
From BBC • Sep. 21, 2024
It screams with fiery spices and sweet and salty seasonings to ensure you augment each porky bite with spoonfuls of rice.
From Seattle Times • Jan. 12, 2023
While it doesn't have that deep porky smokiness of a long-simmered pozole rojo, the Panera chicken tortilla soup hits all the right notes for a satisfying nod to Mexican-inspired flavors.
From Salon • Jan. 30, 2022
Yet the star of the dish turned out to be its condiment, a sticky, salty and porky soppressata jam.
From New York Times • Nov. 16, 2021
That’s probably why I’ve been getting kind of porky.
From "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" by Erika L. Sánchez
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.
