an industrial town in NW England, in Wigan unitary authority, Greater Manchester: former coal-mining centre. Pop: 81 203 (2001)
a unitary authority in NW England, in Greater Manchester. Pop: 303 800 (2003 est). Area: 199 sq km (77 sq miles)
1870–75; after Wigan, where originally produced
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
He would otherwise be barred from doing so without a seat in Parliament, making the Labour leadership a key issue in the contest in Makerfield, just south of Wigan.
From BBC • Jun. 19, 2026
He won in every borough in the city region, including in Wigan, where the Makerfield constituency sits.
From BBC • Jun. 19, 2026
A crunching tackle at the Holte End against Wigan on his Villa debut endeared him to the support.
From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026
The Lancashire pits that George Orwell once wrote about in the Road to Wigan Pier have long closed, with warehouses and logistics hubs replacing them.
From BBC • Jun. 11, 2026
Ashton, Oldham, Rochdale, Bury, Bolton and Wigan form a nearly confluent semicircle of great towns, their prosperity founded on the underlying coal and iron, maintained by imported cotton.
From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 9, Slice 4 "England" to "English Finance" by Various
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.
