What does pig iron mean?
Definitions for pig iron
pig iron
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word pig iron.
Princeton's WordNet
pig ironnoun
crude iron tapped from a blast furnace
Wiktionary
pig ironnoun
A type of crude iron shaped like a block, commonly used as an industrial raw material.
Etymology: In the 1800s, one method of iron-making involved pouring molten iron into molds in sand beds fed from a common channel. The resulting blocks of iron were called the suckling "piglets", and the channel was called the "pig". Since then, "pig iron" has become a widely used term.
Wikipedia
Pig iron
Pig iron is an intermediate product of the iron industry, also known as crude iron, which is first obtained from a smelting furnace in the form of oblong blocks. Pig iron has a very high carbon content, typically 3.8–4.7%, along with silica and other constituents of dross, which makes it very brittle and not useful directly as a material except for limited applications. Pig iron is made by smelting iron ore into a transportable ingot of impure high carbon-content iron in a blast furnace as an ingredient for further processing steps. The traditional shape of the molds used for pig iron ingots was a branching structure formed in sand, with many individual ingots at right angles to a central channel or runner, resembling a litter of piglets being suckled by a sow. When the metal had cooled and hardened, the smaller ingots (the pigs) were simply broken from the runner (the sow), hence the name pig iron. As pig iron is intended for remelting, the uneven size of the ingots and the inclusion of small amounts of sand caused only insignificant problems considering the ease of casting and handling them.
ChatGPT
pig iron
Pig iron is a type of raw iron that is obtained by smelting iron ore in a blast furnace. It has a very high carbon content, typically around 3.5–4.5%, along with quantities of silicon, manganese, sulfur, and phosphorous. This makes it brittle and not useful in its pure form, but it can be further refined and converted into steel or other iron products. It is referred to as "pig iron" because during the smelting process, it was often cast into bars or ingots that were then arranged in a pattern resembling piglets suckling from a sow.
Wikidata
Pig iron
Pig iron is the intermediate product of smelting iron ore with a high-carbon fuel such as coke, usually with limestone as a flux. Charcoal and anthracite have also been used as fuel. Pig iron has a very high carbon content, typically 3.5–4.5%, along with silica and other constituents of dross, which makes it very brittle and not useful directly as a material except for limited applications. The traditional shape of the molds used for these ingots was a branching structure formed in sand, with many individual ingots at right angles to a central channel or runner. Such a configuration is similar in appearance to a litter of piglets suckling on a sow. When the metal had cooled and hardened, the smaller ingots were simply broken from the much thinner runner, hence the name pig iron. As pig iron is intended for remelting, the uneven size of the ingots and the inclusion of small amounts of sand caused only insignificant problems considering the ease of casting and handling them.
Suggested Resources
pig iron
Song lyrics by pig iron -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by pig iron on the Lyrics.com website.
Matched Categories
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of pig iron in Chaldean Numerology is: 9
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of pig iron in Pythagorean Numerology is: 7
Translations for pig iron
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
Get even more translations for pig iron »
Translation
Find a translation for the pig iron definition in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Word of the Day
Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?
Citation
Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"pig iron." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 17 Feb. 2025. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/pig+iron>.
Discuss these pig iron definitions with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In