jug
1 Americannoun
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a large container usually made of earthenware, metal, or glass, commonly having a handle, a narrow neck, and sometimes a cap or cork.
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the contents of such a container; jugful.
a jug of wine.
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Slang: Vulgar. jugs, a woman's breasts.
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Slang. bank.
Yeah, I drove him, but I didn't know he went in the jug to rob the place.
verb (used with object)
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to put into a jug.
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to stew (meat) in an earthenware jug.
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Slang. to put in jail; imprison.
noun
verb (used without object)
noun
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US equivalent: pitcher. a vessel for holding or pouring liquids, usually having a handle and a spout or lip
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such a vessel used as a kettle
an electric jug
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a large vessel with a narrow mouth
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Also called: jugful. the amount of liquid held by a jug
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informal a glass of alcoholic drink, esp beer
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a slang word for jail
verb
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to stew or boil (meat, esp hare) in an earthenware container
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slang (tr) to put in jail
Etymology
Origin of jug1
First recorded in 1530–40; perhaps special use of Jug, diminutive or pet name of Joan, a woman's name
Origin of jug2
First recorded in 1515–25; imitative
Explanation
Many people buy their milk in a jug, a large container with a handle and a small opening at the top. A jug usually has a fairly small spout or mouth at the top; a gallon milk container is one kind of jug, usually made of plastic. Other jugs are made of clay or glass. In some countries, beer comes in a jug, and in others water is collected and carried in a jug. Earthenware jugs can actually be played as musical instruments, often in a jug band — the player blows across the opening and holds the jug at different angles.
Vocabulary lists containing jug
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Within the exhibition halls, a bedroom, living room and kitchen -- complete with a glass jug, coffee pot, and spice containers -- recreate details of daily life in the homes of southern Lebanese residents.
From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026
By having a communal jug, the lawsuit alleged, the staff at Los Padrinos “permitted a juvenile to control the water supply and thereby determine other students’ access to water.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
The actor and host brings a gallon jug of water with him everywhere.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 8, 2026
Each time a downpour begins, Scott strips down to the waist, grabs a large glass jug, and runs out to one of three drainpipes to collect enough water to last the week.
From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026
Grady appears with the jug and hands it to Camel.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
Others include jugged hare and flummery - an oat-based fermented jelly, associated with farmhouse production and poverty.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026
Without tannins, cider can taste flabby, one-dimensional, limp—and in need of flavorings to mask the fact that it tastes like, well, jugged juice.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2016
Fortnight ago President Cardenas personally had him jugged for egging on an anti-Fascist crowd.
From Time Magazine Archive
Editor Balcioglu was jugged for reprinting part of a story by U.S.
From Time Magazine Archive
He wanted to taste all the food: the pigeon pies, the honey tarts, that suckling pig with the apple in its mouth, and the jugged hare.
From "The Door in the Wall" by Marguerite de Angeli
According to a recent report from ABC’s “Good Morning America,” the city of Austin has had 84 jugging cases this year.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 27, 2022
According to the FBI, jugging has surged during the pandemic.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 27, 2022
When the Marathon was three-fourths finished, he was just an obscure also-ran, jugging along in tenth place, eighth place.
From Time Magazine Archive
The kegs he could not move alone, and set to work jugging the fluid from them.
From Judith of the Cumberlands by MacGowan, Alice
Ground game at that, for Coracle is in the act of "jugging" a hare.
From Gwen Wynn by Reid, Mayne
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
