bog

1
[ bog, bawg ]
/ bɒg, bɔg /

noun

wet, spongy ground with soil composed mainly of decayed vegetable matter.
an area or stretch of such ground.

verb (used with or without object), bogged, bog·ging.

to sink in or as if in a bog (often followed by down): We were bogged down by overwork.

Verb Phrases

bog in, Australian Slang. to eat heartily and ravenously.

Origin of bog

1
1495–1505; < Irish or Scots Gaelic bogach soft ground ( bog soft + -ach noun suffix); (def 4) perhaps a different word

OTHER WORDS FROM bog

bog·gish, adjective

British Dictionary definitions for bog down (1 of 2)

bog down

verb bogs, bogging or bogged

(adverb when tr, often passive) to impede or be impeded physically or mentally

British Dictionary definitions for bog down (2 of 2)

bog
/ (bɒɡ) /

noun

wet spongy ground consisting of decomposing vegetation, which ultimately forms peat
an area of such ground
a place or thing that prevents or slows progress or improvement
a slang word for lavatory (def. 1)
Australian slang the act or an instance of defecating
See also bog down, bog in, bog off

Derived forms of bog

boggy, adjective bogginess, noun

Word Origin for bog

C13: from Gaelic bogach swamp, from bog soft

Scientific definitions for bog down

bog
[ bôg ]

An area of wet, spongy ground consisting mainly of decayed or decaying peat moss (sphagnum) and other vegetation. Bogs form as the dead vegetation sinks to the bottom of a lake or pond, where it decays slowly to form peat. Peat bogs are important to global ecology, since the undecayed peat moss stores large amounts of carbon that would otherwise be released back into the atmosphere. Global warming may accelerate decay in peat bogs and release more carbon dioxide, which in turn may cause further warming.

Idioms and Phrases with bog down

bog down

Become stuck, be unable to progress, as in Their research bogged down because they lacked the laboratory expertise. This expression transfers sinking into the mud of a swamp to being hampered or halted. [First half of 1900s]