hogwash
/ˈhɔɡ.wɑʃ/noun
hogwash is spelled H-O-G-W-A-S-H: 7 letters and 2 syllables. It appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,838th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, hogwash means “Foolish talk or writing; nonsense” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of hogwash is hogwashes.
How many letters and syllables are in hogwash?
| Letters | 7: H-O-G-W-A-S-H |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 4 million words; the 60,838th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is hogwash?
Hogwash appears about once in every 4 million words in written English, the 60,838th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce hogwash?
- UK /ˈhɒɡ.wɒʃ/
- US /ˈhɔɡ.wɑʃ/
- /ˈhɑɡ.wɑʃ/
Hogwash has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-hogwash.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of hogwash
- hogwashes plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does hogwash mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
informalFoolish talk or writing; nonsense.
- 2
A mixture of solid and liquid food scraps fed to pigs; swill.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Hogwash in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | baratin, boniment |
| German | Quatsch, Unsinn |
| Portuguese | disparate |
| Spanish | tonterías, paparruchas, sinsentido , bazofia |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does hogwash come from?
From Middle English *hoggewasch (found only as Middle English hoggyswasch (“refuse of the kitchen for feeding pigs”, literally “hog's wash”)), equivalent to hog + wash.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).