bog

1 of 3

noun (1)

ˈbäg 

ˈbȯg

geography : wet spongy ground

especially : a poorly drained usually acid area rich in accumulated plant material, frequently surrounding a body of open water, and having a characteristic flora (as of sedges, heaths, and sphagnum)

bog

2 of 3

verb

bogged; bogging

transitive verb

: to cause to sink into or as if into a bog (see bog entry 1) : impede, mire

—usually used with down

a car that had gotten bogged down in the mud

easy to get bogged down in the details

intransitive verb

: to become impeded or stuck

—usually used with down

Extra demand can cause the system to bog down.

bog

3 of 3

noun (2)

British

: lavatory sense 2

Synonyms

Noun (1)

• fen
• marsh
• marshland
• mire
• moor
• morass
• muskeg
• slough
• slew
• slue
• swamp
• swampland
• wash
• wetland

Noun (2)

• bath
• bathroom
• can
• cloakroom [British]
• comfort station
• convenience [chiefly British]
• head
• john
• latrine
• lavatory
• loo [chiefly British]
• potty
• restroom
• toilet
• washroom
• water closet

Examples of bog in a Sentence

Noun (1)

got a shoe stuck in the bog

Noun (2)

they're out of paper in the bog again

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

At the beginning of that play, her character has spent a decade as a sort of half widow; her husband, who had disappeared ten years earlier, has finally been found, mummified in a peat bog. —Helen Shaw, The New Yorker, 3 Oct. 2024

They’re stubbornly entrenched in their Appalachian bog, until an unsettling secret comes to light. —Carly Tagen-Dye, Peoplemag, 1 Sep. 2024

Verb

With massive amounts of data available everywhere, there’s no need to let bureaucracy bog things down. —Eli Amdur, Forbes, 5 Sep. 2024

And in Yemen, with very little investment, Iran has managed to bog Saudi Arabia and its allies down in a costly war, diverting Saudi resources away from Iraq and Syria. —Vali Nasr, Foreign Affairs, 13 Feb. 2018

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1) and Verb

Middle English (Scots), from Scottish Gaelic & Irish bog- (as in bogluachair bulrushes), from bog marshy, literally, soft, from Middle Irish bocc; probably akin to Old English būgan to bend — more at bow

Noun (2)

short for boghouse, from British argot bog to defecate

First Known Use

Noun (1)

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1599, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun (2)

circa 1789, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing bog

• bog asphodel
• bog bilberry
• bog blueberry
• bog down
• bog paper
• bog-standard

Kids Definition

bog

1 of 2 noun

ˈbäg 

ˈbȯg

: wet spongy ground

especially : a poorly drained acid area in which dead plant matter accumulates and sphagnum grows in abundance

boggy

-ē 

adjective

bog

2 of 2 verb

bogged; bogging

: to sink or become stuck in or as if in a bog

get bogged down in too much detail