clog

American  

[klog, klawg] / klɒg, klɔg /

verb (used with object)

clogs, present (3rd person singular) clogged, past participle, past clogging present participle

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)

clogs, present (3rd person singular) clogged, past participle, past clogging present participle

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

Derived Forms

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

Conjugated Forms

Present

• have clogged
  perfect
• has clogged
  perfect 3rd person singular
• has been clogging
  perfect progressive 3rd person singular
• are clogging
  progressive
• am clogging
  progressive 1st person singular
• is clogging
  progressive 3rd person singular
• clogging
  participle
• clogs
  singular 3rd person
• have been clogging
  perfect progressive

Past

• had clogged
  perfect
• were clogging
  progressive plural
• had been clogging
  perfect progressive
• was clogging
  progressive singular
• clogged
  simple
• clogged
  participle

Future

• will clog
  simple
• will have clogged
  perfect
• will have been clogging
  perfect progressive
• will be clogging
  progressive

Etymology

Origin of clog

1350–1400; Middle English, of uncertain origin

Explanation

A clog is a blockage, or something that gets in the way. A clog in your kitchen sink might mean you have to call a plumber before you can wash your dishes. A clog obstructs water from flowing through pipes, and it can also be figurative, like a clog in your city's restaurant inspection system that makes it impossible for people to open new cafes. When clog is a verb, it means to cause such a hindrance. A completely different kind of clog is a heavy, wooden-soled shoe. In the 14th century, a clogge was a "lump of wood," and the verb first meant, "hinder with a block of wood."

Example Sentences

The waste can also clog the aquatic vegetation where the fish would feed and breed, and contaminate the water on which they depend.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

“If a well stays shut too long, it could clog up, and the oil hardens a bit. Then it would take even longer before they can start it back up,” he said.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 29, 2026

The flight crew had to adjust the spacecraft to point the vent toward the Sun to help clear the clog.

From BBC • Apr. 5, 2026

Plastic bags clog streams and injure and kill marine mammals and wildlife.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 17, 2026

Nothing familiar, not a traffic clog of yellow rusted buses or a water-logged slum of zinc shacks.

From "Americanah" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Related Words

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