clog

American  

[klog, klawg] / klɒg, klɔg /

verb (used with object)

clogged, clogging

1. to hinder or obstruct with thick or sticky matter; choke up.

   to clog a drain.

2. to crowd excessively, especially so that movement is impeded; overfill.

   Cars clogged the highway.

3. to encumber; hamper; hinder.

   Synonyms:

   fetter, trammel, impede

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verb (used without object)

clogged, clogging

1. to become clogged, encumbered, or choked up.

2. to stick; stick together.

3. to do a clog dance.

noun

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

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

3. a similar but lighter shoe worn in the clog dance.

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

5. clog dance.

6. British Dialect. a thick piece of wood.

clog ¹ British  

/ klɒɡ /

verb

1. to obstruct or become obstructed with thick or sticky matter

2. (tr) to encumber; hinder; impede

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

4. (intr) to adhere or stick in a mass

5. slang (in soccer) to foul (an opponent)

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noun

1. 1. any of various wooden or wooden-soled shoes

   2. ( as modifier )

      clog dance

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

3. something that impedes motion or action; hindrance

4. slang to die

clog ² British  

/ klɒɡ /

verb

1. 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

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Other Word Forms

• anticlogging adjective
• cloggily adverb
• clogginess noun
• clogging noun
• cloggy adjective
• overclog verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of clog

1350–1400; Middle English, of uncertain origin

Example Sentences

The theater had lost its luster and its high-society audience, reduced to booking vaudeville comedians, clog dancers, and trick dogs.

From Literature

Most young readers today would find “The Yearling” too long, too leisurely and too clogged with dialect, but a few might still feel as I did when I read it more than 60 years ago.

From The Wall Street Journal

On Super Bowl Sunday, household wipes clogged workaround pumps and released an additional 600,000 gallons of waste into the river.

From The Wall Street Journal

I guess I’m not totally alone, though I doubt my little cousin can solve the jumble of fears clogging up my brain.

From Literature

On the way out, Kelly and her friends clogged up the doorway trying to take a selfie.

From Literature

Related Words

• choke
• congest
• fill
• hamper
• impede
• obstruct
• plug
• seal