What does vego mean?
Vego is an informal English label for a vegetarian, used especially in Australia and New Zealand and also occasionally in Britain. As a noun, it refers to a person who avoids meat; as an adjective, it describes food, meals, or diets without meat. The word is conversational and shorter than vegetarian, making it common in casual discussion of food and lifestyle. A vego generally avoids meat but may eat dairy products and eggs, whereas vegan has the stricter implication of avoiding animal products altogether. This distinction is useful when reading menus, discussing a diet, or choosing wording that does not overstate a speaker's dietary practice. Vego developed as a shortened form of vegetarian and belongs to the broader vocabulary descended from Latin vegetare, “to grow or enliven.” The word is therefore both practical and memorable: it captures an everyday dietary identity in just four letters.
An informal term for a person who does not eat meat, especially one who may still consume dairy products and eggs.
"Several vegos attended the cooking workshop."
This use is chiefly associated with informal Australian and New Zealand English.
Relating to or suitable for a diet without meat; containing no meat.
"They chose a vego lunch from the café's varied menu."
The adjective is most established in Australian English and informal usage.
The regular plural is used when referring to more than one vegetarian person.
"The office has several vegos and one committed meat-eater."
The key distinction is simple: a vego may eat cheese, while a vegan may not.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of vego
Vego is a 20th-century informal shortening and reshaping of vegetarian, rather than an independent Latin word. It became especially associated with Australian English and was also adopted in other English varieties. Its wider vocabulary ancestry lies in Latin vegetare, “to grow or enliven,” through words such as vegetable, vegetarian, and vegetation.
How vego is actually used
The word is informal and chiefly associated with Australian and New Zealand English, though it is also recorded in British English. Its clipped form can sound conversational; vegetarian may be preferable where greater formality or explicitness is desired.
Easily confused with vego
A vego generally avoids meat but may eat dairy products and eggs, whereas a vegan avoids all animal-derived food products.
Vegie can refer to a vegetable or to a vegetarian, depending on context, while vego more specifically denotes a person who avoids meat.