clog

[klog, klawg]

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verb (used with object), clogged, clog·ging.

to hinder or obstruct with thick or sticky matter; choke up: to clog a drain.

to crowd excessively, especially so that movement is impeded; overfill: Cars clogged the highway.

to encumber; hamper; hinder.

verb (used without object), clogged, clog·ging.

to become clogged, encumbered, or choked up.

to stick; stick together.

to do a clog dance.

noun

anything that impedes motion or action; an encumbrance; a hindrance.

a shoe or sandal with a thick sole of wood, cork, rubber, or the like.

a similar but lighter shoe worn in the clog dance.

a heavy block, as of wood, fastened to a person or beast to impede movement.

clog dance.

British Dialect. a thick piece of wood.

Origin of clog

1350–1400; Middle English, of uncertain origin

Related formsclog·gi·ly, adverbclog·gi·ness, nounclog·gy, adjectivean·ti·clog·ging, adjectiveo·ver·clog, verb (used with object), o·ver·clogged, o·ver·clog·ging.

Synonyms for clog

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR clog ON THESAURUS.COM

3. impede, trammel, fetter.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for clog

plug, obstruct, congest, choke, impede, seal, hamper, fill, encumbrance, blockade, snag, obstruction, drag, impediment, burden, hindrance, bar, block, impedance, jam

Examples from the Web for clog

Contemporary Examples of clog

Bloggers and street photographers will clog the entrances of each show incessantly posting to their Twitter and Instagram feeds.
Who to See and Where to be Seen: The Hot Tips for New York Fashion Week
Barbara Ragghianti
September 3, 2014

Historical Examples of clog

He dragged off the trap and its clog, and went clanking up the mountain.
The Biography of a Grizzly
Ernest Seton-Thompson
It seemed to clog the ears, and made breathing a deeper exercise.
Love and Lucy
Maurice Henry Hewlett
Then there was the clog of his body, another separate thing.
The Prussian Officer
D. H. Lawrence
Without such a box, the sediment will be carried into and may clog the drain.
Handwork in Wood
William Noyes
He'll haul the clog along, but he won't get many miles with it.
Ben Comee
M. J. (Michael Joseph) Canavan

British Dictionary definitions for clog

clog

verb clogs, clogging or clogged

to obstruct or become obstructed with thick or sticky matter

(tr) to encumber; hinder; impede

(tr) to fasten a clog or impediment to (an animal, such as a horse)

(intr) to adhere or stick in a mass

slang (in soccer) to foul (an opponent)

noun

any of various wooden or wooden-soled shoes
(as modifier)clog dance

a heavy block, esp of wood, fastened to the leg of a person or animal to impede motion

something that impedes motion or action; hindrance

pop one's clogs slang to die

Derived Formscloggy, adjectiveclogginess, noun

Word Origin for clog

C14 (in the sense: block of wood): of unknown origin

clog

verb clogs, clogging or clogged

to use a photo-enabled mobile phone to take a photograph of (someone) and send it to a website without his or her knowledge or consent

Derived Formsclogging, noun

Word Origin for clog

C21: c(amera) + log

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

Word Origin and History for clog

early 14c., clogge "a lump of wood," origin unknown. Also used in Middle English of large pieces of jewelry and large testicles. Cf. Norwegian klugu "knotty log of wood." Meaning "anything that impedes action" is from 1520s. The sense of "wooden-soled shoe" is first recorded late 14c.; they were used as overshoes until the introduction of rubbers c.1840. Originally all wood (hence the name), later wooden soles with leather uppers for the front of the foot only. Later revived in fashion (c.1970), primarily for women. Clog-dancing is attested from 1863.

late 14c., "hinder," originally by fastening a block of wood to something, from clog (n.). Meaning "choke up with extraneous matter" is 17c. Related: Clogged; clogging.