Meanings
- uncountablepaper manufactureAn undesirable pink-colored microbial mass occurring in the slurry used in making paper.First known use 1951
Pink slime is a real and continuing problem in many paper mills. Once established it may be difficult to ... Holmes (15, 16) and Sanborn (24) stated that yeasts or yeast-like fungi were often the cause of pink slime.
1955, Technical Association of the Pulp and Paper Industry. Microbiological Committee, John William Appling, Microbiology of pulp and paper - colloquialderogatoryuncountableA meat byproduct produced from scraps by heating and then treating with ammonia to produce a food additive.First known use 2002
Pink slime is allowed in any school in America by the USDA.
2011 April 12, “Maybe L.A. Was a Big Mistake”, in Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, season 2, episode 1, Jamie Oliver (actor)2 more examples
You’ve heard about the “pink slime,” right? It’s that meat filler made from slaughterhouse scraps that is treated with ammonia.
2012 March 19, Laura Weisman, “Who sells meat with pink slime? Here’s the list”, in San Francisco ChronicleYou told me you were all-beef, not filled with some pink slime ammonia goop! That is the last thing I want mixed up in my mulched-up cow corpse!
2012 March 28, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, Jon Stewart (actor), Comedy CentralSynonyms: lean finely textured beef, boneless lean beef trimmings
- broadlyuncountableLow-quality, mass-produced internet content, especially AI-generated.
I paid a website developer to create a fully automated, AI-generated ‘pink-slime’ news site, programmed to create false political stories.
2024 April 12, Jack Brewster, “How I Built an AI-Powered, Self-Running Propaganda Machine for $105”, in Wall Street Journal - uncountableUsed other than figuratively or idiomatically: see pink, slime. Slime which is pink.
Water flowed down the cliff, showering on their heads; the stone under their feet was slick with pink slime.
2001, Ian Irvine, A Shadow on the Glass2 more examples
The pastry room was a further revelation. Six young girls in white coats and white hats were dusting white flour over small pre-formed pastry lids, which were then glued onto cups of uncooked short crust filled with pink slime.
2006, Norman Allen, The Besting of Humphrey Mercer, page 34As she buried her face deep in the cool pulp, even her cheeks became slicked with pink slime. She paid no attention to Gabe, chomping away on his melon next to her. Focus was the name of the game.
2010, Vicki Lewis Thompson, Ambushed!, page 45
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA meat byproduct produced from scraps by heating and then treating with ammonia to produce a food additive.
Origin
Apparently first applied to food in 2002 by Food Safety and Inspection Service microbiologist Gerald Zirnstein.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 粉紅肉渣 /粉红肉渣
- 粉紅肉渣 /粉红肉渣 (fěnhóng ròu zhā)meat by-product
Finnish vaaleanpunainen lima, muu lihaan verrattava valmistusaine
- vaaleanpunainen limapink microbial mass in paper making
- muu lihaan verrattava valmistusainemeat by-product
German rosa Schleim
- rosa Schleimmeat by-product
Russian ро́зовая слизь, ро́зовая слизь
- ро́зовая слизь (rózovaja slizʹ)pink microbial mass in paper making
- ро́зовая слизь (rózovaja slizʹ)meat by-product
Spanish baba rosada, baba rosa
- baba rosadameat by-product
- baba rosameat by-product
- viscosidad rosadameat by-product
Cite this entry
pink slime. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pink%20slime
“pink slime.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pink%20slime. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “pink slime,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/pink%20slime.
Source: pink slime on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.