What does pigged mean?
Pigged is the past tense and past participle of the verb “pig.” In its traditional or industrial sense, it means to force molten metal into a crack, joint, or other narrow space so that the metal forms a secure seal; “the smith pigged the joint” is therefore an example of metalworking language. The word also appears in informal expressions such as “pigged out on food,” meaning to eat greedily or in excessive amounts. In some North American usage, “pigged out” can additionally suggest being thoroughly exhausted, although that meaning is less formal and less consistent across regions. Although the modern verb is best known through these figurative and idiomatic uses, its older technical sense gives the word an unusually concrete history: it refers to the physical process of filling spaces with metal.
To smear or fill a crack, joint, or seam with molten metal, especially when working iron.
"He pigged the joint to prevent the molten metal from leaking out."
Chiefly a traditional metalworking term, found especially in British English.
To eat greedily or excessively.
"They pigged out on takeaway food all evening."
Informal; the idiom is more commonly expressed as “pig out.”
Long before “pigged out” meant overate, pigging was the metalworker’s art of sealing a seam with molten metal.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does pigged come from?
The word descends from Middle English “pigge,” the established word for the domestic swine, and the verb “pig” developed specialized meanings in metalworking and informal eating. The older English form has Germanic relatives, although the precise route by which the metalworking sense developed is not certain. “Piglet,” “pigsty,” and “piggery” preserve the same English animal-word root.
Related word forms
How pigged is actually used
The metalworking sense is chiefly British and specialized. The eating sense is informal and often appears in the phrase “pig out” or the expression “pigged out”; in North American English, “pigged out” may also describe someone who is extremely tired or exhausted.
Easily confused with pigged
Piked refers to something pointed, steeply angled, or deliberately price-controlled, whereas pigged refers to metal being forced into a seam or, informally, to overeating.