razorback

[rey-zer-bak]

See more synonyms for razorback on Thesaurus.com

noun

a finback or rorqual.
a wild or semiwild hog with a ridgelike back, common in the southern U.S.
a sharp narrow ridge or range of hills.

adjective

Also ra·zor·backed, ra·zor-backed. having a sharp ridge along the back.

Origin of razorback

First recorded in 1815–25; razor + back¹

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Related Words for razorback

swine, boar, piglet, sow, razorback, shoat, porker, piggy, warthog

Examples from the Web for razorback

Historical Examples of razorback

Finally I struck a circus, and got an engagement as a razorback.
The Young Acrobat of the Great North American Circus
Horatio Alger Jr.
The mainstay of every farmer, aside from his cornfield, was his litter of razorback hogs.
Our Southern Highlanders
Horace Kephart
The razorback has a mind of his own; not instinct, but mind—whatever psychologists may say.
Our Southern Highlanders
Horace Kephart
The razorback is a powerful hunter, and it does not require a powerful animal scent to draw the razorback to the trap.
Fifty Years a Hunter and Trapper
Eldred Nathaniel Woodcock
The Razorback range is a very remarkable feature in this part of the country.
Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, Vol 2 (of 2)
Thomas Mitchell

British Dictionary definitions for razorback

razorback

noun

Also called: finback the common rorqualSee rorqual
a semiwild or wild pig of the southeastern US, having a narrow body, long legs, and a ridged back

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

Word Origin and History for razorback

type of pig with a sharp ridge-like back, 1849, from razor (n.) + back (n.). Especially of feral hogs in the U.S. South. Also used of narrow ridges of land.