pork barrel

noun

: government projects or appropriations yielding rich patronage benefits

also : pork sense 2

Did you know?

You might expect that the original pork barrels were barrels for storing pork-and you're right. In the early 19th century, that's exactly what pork barrel meant. But the term was also used figuratively to mean "a supply of money" or "one's livelihood" (a farmer, after all, could readily turn pork into cash). When 20th-century legislators doled out appropriations that benefited their home districts, someone apparently made an association between the profit a farmer got from a barrel of pork and the benefits derived from certain state and federal projects. By 1909, pork barrel was being used as a noun naming such government appropriations, and today the term is usually used attributively in constructions such as "pork barrel spending" or "a pork barrel project."

Examples of pork barrel in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

As the contest pivots to the November election, Collins is using old school pork barrel politics to win over voters who may be ambivalent about reelecting her to a sixth term. — Steve Mistler, NPR, 21 May 2026

Arévalo appears less interested in prosecuting corrupt actors and more focused on doing away with pork barrel spending, Freeman says. — Tara John, CNN, 12 Aug. 2023

In addition to the endowment, NMSU is also pursuing athletic department monies from the bursting pork barrels of individual legislators. — Daniel Libit, Sportico.com, 3 Sep. 2019

Their coalition has always been uneasy, based more on pork barrel politics than ideological affinity. — Juan De Onís, Foreign Affairs, 17 July 2016

Word History

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for pork barrel

• apparel
• nonpareil
• carol

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Kids Definition

pork barrel

noun

: government projects that benefit people in a particular part of the country and that are done to help the political careers of elected officials