What does "clog" mean?
A type of shoe with an inflexible, often wooden sole sometimes with an open heel.
Clog
/klɑɡ/ noun, verb, slang
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A type of shoe with an inflexible, often wooden sole sometimes with an open heel.
- Grammar: clog is listed as noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: sabot, arrest, back up, bar.
- Useful contrasts: allowed room, clear processes, accelerate.
- Usage evidence: Always use distilled water in steam irons because using ordinary water will cause a mineral build-up over time that will clog the steam holes.
How to use "clog"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "clog" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "clog" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "clog" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "clog" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "clog" is acting as noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "sabot" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "clog", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A type of shoe with an inflexible, often wooden sole sometimes with an open heel.
"Dutch people rarely wear clogs these days."
- 2 a dance performed while wearing shoes with wooden soles; has heavy stamping steps wordnet
- 3 A blockage.
"The plumber cleared the clog from the drain."
- 4 any object that acts as a hindrance or obstruction wordnet
- 5 A shoe of any type. UK, colloquial
"I let him in this morning. He lost one of his clogs."
Show 3 more definitions
- 6 footwear usually with wooden soles wordnet
- 7 A weight, such as a log or block of wood, attached to a person or animal to hinder motion.
"Yet as a Dog committed close / For some offence, by chance breaks loose, / And quits his Clog; but all in vain, / He still draws after him his Chain."
- 8 That which hinders or impedes motion; an encumbrance, restraint, or impediment of any kind.
"The grand Conſpirator, Abbot of Weſtminster, / With clog of Conſcience, and ſowre Melancholly / Hath yeelded up his body to the graue;"
Verb
- 1 To block or slow passage through (often with 'up').
"Hair is clogging the drainpipe."
- 2 fill to excess so that function is impaired wordnet
- 3 To encumber or load, especially with something that impedes motion; to hamper.
"The wings of winds were clogged with ice and snow."
- 4 coalesce or unite in a mass wordnet
- 5 To burden; to trammel; to embarrass; to perplex.
"The commodities […]are clogged with impositions."
Show 6 more definitions
- 6 impede with a clog or as if with a clog wordnet
- 7 To enforce a mortgage lender right that prevents a borrower from exercising a right to redeem.
"1973, Humble Oil & Refining Co. v. Doerr, 123 N.J. Super. 530, 544, 303 A.2d 898. For centuries it has been the rule that a mortgagor’s equity of redemption cannot be clogged and that he cannot, as a part of the original mortgage transaction, cut off or surrender his right to redeem. Any agreement which does so is void and unenforceable as against public policy."
- 8 impede the motion of, as with a chain or a burden wordnet
- 9 To perform a clog dance. intransitive
"And in a burst of Celtic drums and fiddles, a bosomy colleen with a jaunty green hat and suit jacket riverdanced onto the stage, clogging with a surprising degree of expertise, barely restrained breasts jiggling."
- 10 become or cause to become obstructed wordnet
- 11 dance a clog dance wordnet
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Always use distilled water in steam irons because using ordinary water will cause a mineral build-up over time that will clog the steam holes."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "clog"?
Common synonyms include: sabot, arrest, back up, bar, barrier, bearing rein.
How do you use "clog" in a sentence?
Always use distilled water in steam irons because using ordinary water will cause a mineral build-up over time that will clog the steam holes.
How do you pronounce "clog"?
Pronounced /klɑɡ/.
Etymology
Unknown; perhaps from Middle English clog (“weight attached to the leg of an animal to impede movement”). Perhaps of North Germanic origin and derived from Proto-Germanic *klumpô (“lump, mass, clasp”); compare Old Norse klugu, klogo (“knotty tree log”), Dutch klomp.