clog

[klog, klawg]

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

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

/ 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)

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

/ 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

Other Word Forms

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of clog¹

1350–1400; Middle English, of uncertain origin

Word History and Origins

Origin of clog¹

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

Origin of clog²

C21: _c(amera) + _log

Example Sentences

Officials in some areas say rubbish clogged drainage systems, making the floods worse.

From BBC

Despite warning of an above-normal monsoon rainfall this year, river-embankments and age-old drains in many places remain unrepaired, while plastic waste clogs waterways meant to reduce urban floods.

From BBC

A viral video shows a never-ending row of cars clogging at least a dozen lanes of a key highway.

From BBC

Many parts of the city remain inundated in waist-deep water, with videos showing residents swimming through waterlogged roads as garbage gushed out from clogged sewers.

From BBC

Rows of parked cars clogged a stretch of Park View Street in the morning, blocking traffic.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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