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🐗 A wild hog 🐋 A baleen whale ⛰️ Sharp-backed
razorback

razorback

1 9.3
A wild pig with long legs and a ridged back found in the southeastern United States
  • noun
  • /ˈreɪzərˌbæk/
  • Specialized
translation icon : cerdo salvaje
  • While hiking in the woods, we spotted a large razorback roaming among the trees.
  • razorback hogs
  • razorback boar

Examples

  • The razorback is known for its distinctive ridged back and long legs, making it a unique sight in the southeastern U.S.

  • An estimated 8,000 razorbacks still live in Lake Mojave, most resulting from releases of hatchery-raised fish, but this is down from 65,000 two decades ago.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Quick, dad, there's a big razorback up there.

    Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001)

  • I wouldn't feed this garbage to a razorback hog.

    Jailhouse Rock (1957)

  • Today, there are approximately 8,000 razorbacks, most resulting from releases of hatchery-raised fish.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Bivalve meat for Grampa Cody's razorbacks, said his dad.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Additionally, FWS biologists are raising razorbacks in ponds at the Bill Williams refuge.

    Academic text (2001)

  • Local hunters often speak of their encounters with a razorback in the dense forests of Arkansas.

Synonyms

razorback hog
vsrazorback
  • US
9.3

A wild pig with a thin body, long legs, and a ridged back found in the southeastern United States

uses a slightly more formal adverb to state the same location
razorbacked hog
vsrazorback
  • US
9.0

A wild pig with a raised ridge along its back that lives in the southern United States

describes the same animal but with a less emphasized ridge

Compounds

razorback hog
  • US
9.3

A wild pig with a thin body, long legs, and a ridged back found in the southeastern United States

Surface Forms

razorback singular
razorbacks plural

Morphology

razorback = razor + back (transparent) = razor + back

Clear compound meaning an animal with a notably sharp or ridged back; learners can derive the sense from the components.

Etymology

Razorback comes from the parts razor and back, meaning a 'sharp back'. In the southern United States, people called wild hogs razorbacks because their thin bodies and raised spine make a sharp ridge along the back, so the name shows the animal's look.