pig
pig
/pɪɡ/
1 (also hog especially in North American English) an animal with pink, black or brown skin, short legs, a broad nose and a short curly tail. Pigs are kept on farms for their meat (called pork) or live in the wild.
a pig farmer
Pigs were grunting and squealing in the yard.
to breed/rear pigs
Collocations
adjective
verb + pig
pig + verb
pig + noun
2 (informal, disapproving) a person who you find unpleasant or offensive; a person who you think is dirty or greedy
Arrogant pig!
Don't be such a pig!
The greedy pig's eaten all the biscuits!
She made a pig of herself with the ice cream (= ate too much).
He's a real male chauvinist pig (= a man who does not think women are equal to men).
We cooked up a load of pasta and all made pigs of ourselves.
Collocations
adjective
phrases
make a pig of yourself
3 (slang, offensive) an offensive word for a police officer
Idioms
make a pig’s ear (out) of something
(British English, informal) to do something badly; to make a mess of something
(buy) a pig in a poke
if you buy a pig in a poke, you buy something without seeing it or knowing if it is good enough
Buying from a catalogue can mean buying a pig in a poke.
a pig of a something
(British English, informal) a difficult or unpleasant thing or task
I've had a pig of a day.
pigs might fly
(British English)
(North American English when pigs fly)
(ironic, saying) used to show that you do not believe something will ever happen
‘With a bit of luck, we'll be finished by the end of the year.’ ‘Yes, and pigs might fly!’
pig
/pɪɡ/
(British English, informal)
to eat too much of something
pig something I had a whole box of chocolates and pigged the lot!
pig yourself (on something) Don't give me cakes—I'll just pig myself.
Word Origin
Middle English: probably from the first element of Old English picbrēd ‘acorn’, literally ‘pig bread’ (i.e. food for pigs).