waterlog
Americanverb (used with object)
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to cause (a boat, ship, etc.) to become uncontrollable as a result of flooding.
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to soak, fill, or saturate with water so as to make soggy or useless.
verb (used without object)
Etymology
Origin of waterlog
First recorded in 1770–80; apparently back formation from waterlogged
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Gusting winds protect the greens while rain can waterlog the seaside links, which see their conditions vary far more dramatically than at parkland-style courses such as Augusta National.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Critics say their dams can flood and waterlog fields while the animals themselves can feed on certain agricultural crops and damage trees.
From BBC ● May 5, 2025
"Beavers can flood and waterlog fields, feed on agricultural crops like maize, as well as damage and fell trees such as cricket bat willow."
From BBC ● Feb. 28, 2025
Not at Marvel's oversaturation – we passed the waterlog point long ago.
From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2023
The wood was soft, felt soft to the point of his knife, and he thought that might mean they would waterlog, but then he decided it wouldn’t matter.
From "The River" by Gary Paulsen
You are creating the conditions under which it can improve without becoming waterlogged.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
His cellphone, which he was using for navigation, became waterlogged and inoperable, Sato said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 28, 2026
In the filmmaker’s imagination, the trick of hiding Greek warriors inside a wood contraption was more believable if it looked like a waterlogged offering to a god left by a departed army.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
When soil is damp but not completely waterlogged, nitrogen breakdown may stop midway, producing nitrous oxide instead of harmless nitrogen gas.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 22, 2026
Lolo is right outside the window, though, pulling up the last of the summer flowers that are scorched and waterlogged.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
Flash floods were waterlogging soils, while droughts were killing off whatever crops survived.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 23, 2026
Ecologists also observed widespread waterlogging that was damaging native vegetation.
From Science Daily ● May 14, 2026
Heavy rain and gusty winds lashed India's southern coast as Cyclone Montha started to make landfall on Tuesday, officials said, disrupting flights and triggering waterlogging in low-lying areas.
From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2025
These women also face the brunt of climate change, losing livelihoods and running losses: monsoon waterlogging in their homes leads to wastage of their supplied material.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2024
Unfortunately much waterlogging exists, due to excessive use of canal water and defective drainage.
From The Panjab, North-West Frontier Province, and Kashmir by Sir James McCrone Douie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
