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Meaning & use

road hog

noun·Everydayinformaldisapproving

Last updated

UK/ˈrəʊd hɒɡ/
US/ˈroʊd hɑːɡ/
Usage warning: this word is disapproving. It shows a negative opinion, so take care with who and what you use it about.

Meanings

  1. nouncountableinformaldisapproving

    A driver who takes more than a fair share of the road, for example by driving in the middle or refusing to let others pass.

    Grammar: Refers to a person: a road hog. Plural: road hogs.

    Patterns

    • act like a road hog
    • a road hog on something

    Some road hog was crawling along the middle of the lane and wouldn't let anyone overtake.

    Nobody likes a road hog who spreads a trailer across two lanes.

    My uncle calls every slow driver a road hog.

  2. nouncountableinformalhumorous

    A person on a bike, horse or on foot who blocks others from using a shared path.

    Grammar: A looser, humorous extension of the main sense.

    Patterns

    • a road hog on something

    The cyclists riding four abreast were real road hogs on the narrow lane.

    Don't be a road hog on the shared path; let faster riders by.

    A group of walkers turned the whole lane into road-hog territory.

Word forms

pluralroad hogs

Common combinations

a real road hog
The truck driver was a real road hog on the bridge.
behave like a road hog
Don't behave like a road hog in heavy traffic.
call someone a road hog
He called me a road hog when I drove down the middle.
road hog on the highway
A road hog on the highway made everybody late.

Synonyms and how they differ

hogger
Hogger is a rarer informal word for anyone keeping too much of something, while road hog is specific to driving.
tailgater
A tailgater follows too close behind another car, whereas a road hog takes up too much space.
bad driver
Bad driver is a neutral phrase for any poor driving, while road hog points to selfish use of space.
cutter-in
A person who cuts in swerves into gaps; a road hog is more about staying put and refusing to share.

Opposites

considerate driver

Word family

hog verb
to take too much of something for yourself
hog noun
a pig, or a greedy person
hogging verb
the -ing form of hog: keeping something selfishly
hoggish adjective
greedy and selfish

Commonly confused: road hog or road rage?

road hog vs road rage

Road rage is violent anger shown by a driver, whereas a road hog is just selfish and inconsiderate.

Practice

The driver who sat in the middle of the road and refused to let anyone pass was a classic ______.

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