prig
1 Americannoun
verb (used with object)
verb (used without object)
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Scot. and North England. to haggle or argue over price.
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British Informal. to beg or entreat; ask a favor.
noun
verb
noun
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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prigsimple
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prigssimple
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have priggedperfect
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has priggedperfect
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am priggingprogressive
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are priggingprogressive
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is priggingprogressive
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have been priggingperfect progressive
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has been priggingperfect progressive
Past
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priggedsimple
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had priggedperfect
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was priggingprogressive
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were priggingprogressive
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had been priggingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of prig1
First recorded in 1560–70; formerly, “coxcomb”; perhaps akin to prink
Origin of prig2
First recorded in 1505–15; originally thieves' cant; origin uncertain
Explanation
If you act like you're better than everyone else, they might start calling you a prig — a snobby and arrogant person. A prig might lecture his friends about their manners, or complain about having to eat at a diner instead of a fancier restaurant. Prigs tend to be self-centered and uptight and aren't much fun to be around. In the eighteenth century, prig meant "precise in speech in manners," and implied someone who was deeply religious. The origin of the word is a mystery — its earlier meanings included "dandy or fop" and "thief."
Vocabulary lists containing prig
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:
What if I sounded like a moralizing, self-righteous prig?
From Salon ● Dec. 30, 2023
The Professor, Sonia’s father, is a selfish and pompous prig who hates Vanya as much as Vanya hates him.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 24, 2023
Are you as warmhearted as you say you are, or are you just a crusty old prig who wants to watch old empires while eating your chips and seven-bean dip?
From Washington Post ● Mar. 27, 2023
In comparison, Schultz comes off as less of a martinet and more of a prig in the trial transcripts.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2020
“I had nae wish to kill! He was own cousin to the Orkneys! And think ye that the southron prig, him of the white shield, had before refused to ride with him!”
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
“We are all a bunch of prigs in Washington, after all.”
From Washington Post ● Apr. 25, 2018
At the same time the intellectual elite—particularly the Bloomsbury set—took to ridiculing as prigs and bores the Victorian giants who had built up the economic and moral capital which they lived off.
From Economist ● Oct. 5, 2017
How the prigs managed to nab the labels “correct” and “proper” for their particular form of slang is another matter.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 25, 2016
Purists and prigs might recoil, but if they do, then Mr. Barker will probably feel that he has done his job.
From New York Times ● Jul. 17, 2013
Sophy was one of the prigs who do not care to drink even in reason.
From Shadows of Flames A Novel by Rives, Amélie
“We prigged wi’ Tammas no to gang to the manse till we was sure the minister was living.
From The Little Minister by Barrie, J. M. (James Matthew)
"Hallo!" shouted one of those at the cards, "here's Jack Brereton has prigged the ace of hearts."
From Willy Reilly The Works of William Carleton, Volume One by Carleton, William
Now there was nothing to detect Pomona Road along - None faked a cly, nor cracked a crib, Nor prigged a wipe, nor told a fib,— Minds cultivated and select Slip rarely into wrong!
From Ban and Arriere Ban by Lang, Andrew
Then she prigged with him just to let her hold one in her hands, for said she, bairnlike, "I used to get one every day."
From Sentimental Tommy The Story of His Boyhood by Barrie, J. M. (James Matthew)
I've brought an enamelled mug, because it doesn't break like a teacup, and a little old Britannia metal teapot that I prigged from the attic.
From The Head Girl at the Gables by Brazil, Angela
"Yes; but you'd have to move, and if we took an inventory, I think we"d find that Mr. Beeton has been prigging little things out of the rooms here and there.
From The Works of Rudyard Kipling One Volume Edition by Kipling, Rudyard
Next minute there was me, my very arms prigging wi' him to think better o't, and him standing ready to loup, has knees bent, and not a tremble in them.
From The Little Minister by Barrie, J. M. (James Matthew)
Of posthumous agency in thus picking the pockets of the prigging race, George Barrington's memory must be acquitted.
From The History of Tasmania , Volume II by West, John
You could imagine him trotting up and down in the character of an unsuspicious old gentleman with his handkerchief hanging out of his pocket, that his scholars might show their skill in prigging a wipe.
From From the Easy Chair, series 2 by Curtis, George William
There! that's for you brats; just a little taste to give you a relish for prigging; it's a thing you'll take to more kindly if it's made agreeable to you.
From The Mysteries of Paris, Volume 4 of 6 by Sue, Eugène
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.
