bog

¹ American  

[bog, bawg] / bɒg, bɔg /

noun

1. wet, spongy ground with soil composed mainly of decayed vegetable matter.

2. an area or stretch of such ground.

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verb (used with or without object)

bogs, present (3rd person singular) bogged, past participle, past bogging present participle

1. to sink in or as if in a bog (often followed bydown ).

   We were bogged down by overwork.

verb phrase

1. bog in to eat heartily and ravenously.

bog ² American  

[bog, bawg] / bɒg, bɔg /

noun

British Slang.

1. a lavatory; bathroom.

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bog British  

/ bɒɡ /

noun

1. wet spongy ground consisting of decomposing vegetation, which ultimately forms peat

2. an area of such ground

3. a place or thing that prevents or slows progress or improvement

4. a slang word for lavatory

5. slang the act or an instance of defecating

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bog Scientific  

/ bôg /

1. An area of wet, spongy ground consisting mainly of decayed or decaying peat moss (sphagnum) and other vegetation. Bogs form as the dead vegetation sinks to the bottom of a lake or pond, where it decays slowly to form peat. Peat bogs are important to global ecology, since the undecayed peat moss stores large amounts of carbon that would otherwise be released back into the atmosphere. Global warming may accelerate decay in peat bogs and release more carbon dioxide, which in turn may cause further warming.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bogginess
  noun
• boggish
  adjective
• boggy
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• bogging
  present
• bogged
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• bog
  simple
• bogs
  simple
• have bogged
  perfect
• has bogged
  perfect
• am bogging
  progressive
• are bogging
  progressive
• is bogging
  progressive
• have been bogging
  perfect progressive
• has been bogging
  perfect progressive

Past

• bogged
  simple
• had bogged
  perfect
• was bogging
  progressive
• were bogging
  progressive
• had been bogging
  perfect progressive

Future

• will bog
  simple
• will have bogged
  perfect
• will be bogging
  progressive
• will have been bogging
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of bog¹

1495–1505; < Irish or Scots Gaelic bogach soft ground ( bog soft + -ach noun suffix); bog ¹ ( def. 4 ) perhaps a different word

Origin of bog²

1780–90; probably shortening of bog-house; compare bog to defecate, boggard (16th century) privy, of obscure origin

Explanation

You'd be pretty soggy by morning if you accidentally set your tent up in a bog. A bog is a swampy kind of ground made up mostly of decomposing plants and mosses. Nothing can be built on a bog because the ground is so spongy and damp, and no crops can be grown there. The dried soil from a bog can, however, be dried and burned for fuel. A figurative bog is anything that you tend to get stuck in, like a bog of health problems. Things can also "bog you down", or slow you down literally or figuratively, like when your homework bogs you down so you can't enjoy the weekend.

Example Sentences

There are more than 100 ways to restore peatland, including blocking drains and ditches and re-establishing bog vegetation.

From BBC • Jul. 3, 2026

Citizen Zoo has already begun trialling a bog bush cricket breeding programme.

From BBC • Jun. 15, 2026

Anything would be better than trotting out another bog standard pro sports salute to the troops that year.

From Salon • Mar. 18, 2026

He grew up a farmer, and when he founded a golf course here 30 years ago, his favorite part was moving dirt around what had once been a peat bog.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 21, 2025

He felt that he was lying in a soft slimy bog, and springing up he set his foot on the corner of a cold hard flagstone.

From "The Fellowship of the Ring" by J.R.R. Tolkien

Related Words

• lowland
• marshland
• wetlands