hog

/hɒɡ/

//hɒɡ// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"hog" is a 3-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“hog” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #13,532 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#13,532
frequency rank, English
3
letters
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - Any animal belonging to the Suidae family of mammals, especially the pig, the warthog, and the boar.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

hog vs HR
0% similar
hog vs HP
0% similar
hog vs HQ
0% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for hog
PropertyValue
Headwordhog
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/hɒɡ/
Letters3
Frequency rank#13,532
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “hog” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). hog lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for hog is 3 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /hɒɡ/. Corpus data places it at rank #13,532 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 12 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

hog doesn't appear in our generated misspelling index, typically a sign the spelling maps closely to how the word sounds. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "HR", "HP", "HQ", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English hog, from Old English hogg, hocg (“hog”), possibly from Old Norse hǫggva (“to strike, chop, cut”), from Proto-Germanic *hawwaną (“to hew, forge”), from Proto-Indo-European *kewh₂- (“to beat, hew, forge”). Cognate with Old High German hou… The correct English form is hog, spelled H-O-G.

Definition

  1. 1
    Any animal belonging to the Suidae family of mammals, especially the pig, the warthog, and the boar.
  2. 2
    An adult swine (contrasted with a pig, a young swine).
  3. 3
    A greedy person or thing; one who refuses to share; a gluttonous one.
  4. 4
    A large motorcycle, particularly a Harley-Davidson.
  5. 5
    A young sheep that has not been shorn.
  6. 6
    A rough, flat scrubbing broom for scrubbing a ship's bottom under water.
  7. 7
    A device for mixing and stirring the pulp from which paper is made.
  8. 8
    A shilling coin; its value, 12 old pence.
  9. 9
    A tanner, a sixpence coin; its value.
  10. 10
    A half-crown coin; its value, 30 old pence.
  11. 11
    The effect of the middle of the hull of a ship rising while the ends droop.
  12. 12
    A penis.

Etymology

From Middle English hog, from Old English hogg, hocg (“hog”), possibly from Old Norse hǫggva (“to strike, chop, cut”), from Proto-Germanic *hawwaną (“to hew, forge”), from Proto-Indo-European *kewh₂- (“to beat, hew, forge”). Cognate with Old High German houwan, Old Saxon hauwan, Old English hēawan (English hew). Hog originally meant a castrated male pig, hence a sense of “the cut one”. (Compare hogget for a castrated male sheep.) More at hew. Alternatively from a Brythonic language, from Proto-Celtic *sukkos, from Proto-Indo-European *suH- and thus cognate with Welsh hwch (“sow”) and Cornish hogh (“pig”).

This word in other languages

puerco(Español)cochon(Français)Schwein(Deutsch)suíno(Português)

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "hog"?
"hog" is spelled H-O-G. The IPA pronunciation is /hɒɡ/.
What does "hog" mean?
As a noun, "hog" means: Any animal belonging to the Suidae family of mammals, especially the pig, the warthog, and the boar.
What words are commonly confused with "hog"?
"hog" is commonly confused with "HR", "HP", "HQ". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "hog"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "hog" is /hɒɡ/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "hog"?
From Middle English hog, from Old English hogg, hocg (“hog”), possibly from Old Norse hǫggva (“to strike, chop, cut”), from Proto-Germanic *hawwaną (“to hew, forge”), from Proto-Indo-European *kewh₂- (“to beat, hew, forge”). Cognate with Old High ... See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “hog”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is H-O-G - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /hɒɡ/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “HR” - see the side-by-side comparison. hog vs HR
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list