slog

American  

[slog] / slɒg /

verb (used with object)

slogged, slogging

1. to hit hard, as in boxing or cricket; slug.

2. to drive with blows.

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verb (used without object)

slogged, slogging

1. to deal heavy blows.

2. to walk or plod heavily.

3. to toil.

noun

1. a long, tiring walk or march.

2. long, laborious work.

3. a heavy blow.

slog British  

/ slɒɡ /

verb

1. to hit with heavy blows, as in boxing

2. (intr) to work hard; toil

3. (intr; foll by down, up, along, etc) to move with difficulty; plod

4. cricket to score freely by taking large swipes at the ball

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noun

1. a tiring hike or walk

2. long exhausting work

3. a heavy blow or swipe

Other Word Forms

• slogger noun

Etymology

Origin of slog

First recorded in 1850–55; variant of slug ²

Explanation

When you slog, you toil at something, working hard and often slowly to get a difficult job done. You might slog with your shovel through the pile of snow in your driveway. A worker might slog through a pile of papers on her desk, or slog long and hard on a construction crew. In either case, the job requires persistence and determination. Another way to slog is to walk with difficulty, the way someone might slog along a muddy road to the gas station after getting a flat tire. The original meaning of slog was "hit hard," possibly as a variation of slug.

Example Sentences

The several-year slog for home sales, in part brought about by quickly rising mortgage rates, looked set to improve at the start of 2026, Rindos wrote in a note.

From Barron's • Mar. 26, 2026

She simply kept showing up for it anyway, through the long and often anonymous slog of the professional tour.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026

Despite being on the staff of my school’s newspaper, I expected the film to be a slog; boring and obsessed with detail and names I didn’t know or care much about.

From Salon • Mar. 7, 2026

Results from some of the biggest chains this week will offer a sense of how that rebound is going, as stores and their customers continue the slog through higher living costs and tariff disarray.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 1, 2026

“Why don’t you bring the broadside over to Number Three tonight and we’ll slog through that wretched thing together.”

From "Lyddie" by Katherine Paterson

Related Words

• lumber
• toil
• tramp
• trudge