noun
hogwash
HOG-wosh
noun
1
Nonsense; talk or writing that is foolish or untrue.
"His excuse for being late was pure hogwash."
"She dismissed the rumor as hogwash and moved on."
2
Kitchen scraps and leftover swill mixed together to feed pigs.
"The old farm still fed its pigs on hogwash made from vegetable peelings."
How to Use Hogwash
Learner’s notesIn plain EnglishUsually just means "nonsense" or "rubbish" — the pig-feed meaning is now rare.
Easily confused with
eyewash
Common pairings
pure hogwash
that's hogwash
Word Forms
hogwashes plural
Study it as flashcards or scroll it in Flow — saved to your collection.
Test yourself on “hogwash”
A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage
→
Fill the Gap
Can you complete this real example?
His excuse for being late was pure _____.
Etymology
From Middle English hoggewasch, literally "hog's wash" — kitchen slop fed to pigs. The "nonsense" meaning grew naturally from the idea of worthless swill.