pork

noun

ˈpȯrk 

1

: the fresh or salted flesh of swine when dressed for food

2

: government funds, jobs, or favors distributed by politicians to gain political advantage

Examples of pork in a Sentence

We need to cut the pork out of the federal budget.

Recent Examples on the Web

Their menu is packed with barbecue favorites, including North Carolina-style pulled pork, pork baby-back ribs, brisket burnt ends, smoked wings, and pulled chicken. —Tamia Boyd, Charlotte Observer, 29 Jan. 2025

Take a slab of its pork spare ribs with fries and go heavy on the sauce. —Caitlin Morton, AFAR Media, 27 Jan. 2025

Beef, hamburger, lamb, and pork were deemed unprocessed red meat options.4 One serving of red meat was defined as 3 ounces of food, and from there, participants were sorted into groups based on their average consumption. —Brian Mastroianni, Health, 23 Jan. 2025

While unprocessed red meat was defined as beef, pork, lamb and hamburger. —Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 22 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French porc pig, from Latin porcus — more at farrow

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing pork

• pork barrel
• pork belly
• pork rind
• salt pork

Video

Words of the Year: 1066

English was never the same after the Norman Conquest

Kids Definition

pork

noun

ˈpō(ə)rk 

ˈpȯ(ə)rk

1

: the flesh of a pig used for food

2

: government funds, jobs, or favors distributed by politicians to gain political advantage

Etymology

Middle English pork "meat from a pig," from early French porc "pig," from Latin porcus "pig" — related to porcupine, porpoise see Word History at porpoise