hog

1 of 2

noun

ˈhȯg How to pronounce hog (audio)
ˈhäg
plural hogs also hog
1
a
: a domesticated swine especially when weighing more than 120 pounds (54 kilograms) compare pig sense 1a
b
: any of various animals related to the domesticated swine
2
usually hogg British : a young unshorn sheep
also : wool from such a sheep
3
a
: a selfish, gluttonous, or filthy person
b
: one that uses something to excess
old cars that are gas hogs

hog

2 of 2

verb

hogged; hogging

transitive verb

1
: to cut (a horse's mane) short : roach
2
: to cause to arch
3
: to take in excess of one's due
hog the credit
4
: to tear up or shred (some material, such as waste wood) into bits by machine

intransitive verb

: to become curved upward in the middle
used of a ship's bottom or keel

Examples of hog in a Sentence

Noun Don't be such a hog! Other people have to eat too! The new software is a real memory hog. Verb He's been hogging the remote control all night.
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Noun
Later in episode 10, Peggy wants to invest her portion of her nest egg in a wild pig-hunting business in order to clear Redcorn’s farm of invasive feral hogs. Jake Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Aug. 2025 Wallace is a goat-owning, hog-hunting, anime-loving, fast-talking personification of energy. Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 28 Aug. 2025
Verb
With small guts but big, energy-hogging brains, these creatures were apparently performing much of their metabolism outside of their bodies in order to subsidize their intelligence. Peter Brannen, Big Think, 28 Aug. 2025 Running it could also hog the GPU's video memory. PC Magazine, 26 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hog

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English hogge, from Old English hogg

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Verb

1769, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hog was before the 12th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Hog.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hog. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

Kids Definition

hog

1 of 2 noun
ˈhȯg How to pronounce hog (audio)
ˈhäg
plural hogs also hog
1
a
: a domesticated swine especially when weighing more than 120 pounds (54 kilograms) compare pig sense 1a
b
: any of various animals related to the domesticated swine
2
: a selfish, greedy, or filthy person
hoggish
ˈhȯg-ish
ˈhäg-
adjective
hoggishly adverb
hoggishness noun

hog

2 of 2 verb
hogged; hogging
: to take more than one's share

More from Merriam-Webster on hog

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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