chug

[ chuhg ]

/ tʃʌg /

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See synonyms for: chug / chugged / chugging on Thesaurus.com

noun

a short, dull, explosive sound: the steady chug of an engine.

verb (used without object), chugged, chug·ging.

to make this sound: The motor chugged.

to move while making this sound: The train chugged along.

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Origin of chug

An Americanism dating back to 1865–70; imitative

OTHER WORDS FROM chug

chugger, noun

Other definitions for chug (2 of 2)

chug²

[ chuhg ]

/ tʃʌg /

Slang.

verb (used with object), chugged, chug·ging.

chug-a-lug.

verb (used without object), chugged, chug·ging.

to drink something in large gulps: to chug on a bottle of beer.

noun

a large gulp or swallow: He finished his beer in two chugs.

Origin of chug

Imitative

How to use chug in a sentence

Today, the train chugs north out of Kanchanaburi over the famous bridge before it hits a spectacular bend in the river.
Riding Thailand’s WWII Death Railway|Liza Foreman|December 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Songs of Innocence chugs, broods, ruminates and occasionally shines.
U2 Generously Gives Us a Lousy Album, Sucks at the Corporate Teat|Hampton Stevens|September 13, 2014|DAILY BEAST
As the expansion chugs toward its four-year anniversary, tax revenues are rising and federal spending is falling.
U.S. Closing Trade Deficit With Better Oil Numbers|Daniel Gross|June 5, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Just prior to the contest, he chugs an entire bottle of castor oil and tops it off with an egg.
12 Craziest Pie Scenes|Marlow Stern|November 21, 2011|DAILY BEAST

"Anything can happen now," Harriet thinks as her train chugs eastward, somewhere beyond Venice.
Great Weekend Reads|The Daily Beast|December 18, 2010|DAILY BEAST
When the last chugs from the automobile truck and the car died away, Mrs. Vernon turned to the girls.
Girl Scouts at Dandelion Camp|Lillian Elizabeth Roy
More bridges and trestles, more tunnels, more chugs, and then there comes a steady roar.
With the Battle Fleet|Franklin Matthews
After a number of loud wheezes and chugs the boat started down the river.
The Motor Boys Afloat|Clarence Young
The chug-chugs of the auto told that the machine was being sent ahead at a faster clip.
The Motor Boys in Mexico|Clarence Young
He got three chugs and a backfire into the carburetor, and after that silence.
Cabin Fever|B. M. Bower

British Dictionary definitions for chug

chug

/ (tʃʌɡ) /

noun

a short dull sound, esp one that is rapidly repeated, such as that made by an engine

verb chugs, chugging or chugged

(intr) (of an engine, etc) to operate while making such sounds

Word Origin for chug

C19: of imitative origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

chug

Origin of chug

OTHER WORDS FROM chug

Other definitions for chug (2 of 2)

Origin of chug

Words related to chug

How to use chug in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for chug

Word Origin for chug