bog

¹

[bog, bawg]

noun

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

2. an area or stretch of such ground.

verb (used with or without object)

bogged, bogging 

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

[bog, bawg]

noun

British Slang.

1. a lavatory; bathroom.

bog

/ 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

bog

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.

Other Word Forms

• boggish adjective
• boggy adjective
• bogginess noun

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of bog¹

C13: from Gaelic bogach swamp, from bog soft

Example Sentences

While rivals like Intel got bogged down in costly manufacturing investments, Su focused squarely on what she believes AMD does best: designing ever more powerful semiconductors.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The story gets bogged down in tangential matters.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“Punch” could easily have become a bog of pieties and earnest, uplifting lessons about the necessity of forgiveness.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Patricia also bogs down in the details of translating her earlier book into a Hollywood screenplay, with Kurt Russell keen on the part of her father.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

The New Forest is home to ancient woodland, fens, heaths and bogs, making it a diverse habitat.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• lowland 
• marshland 
• wetlands www.thesaurus.com