Liberal Dictionary English Dictionary
chug 1[chuhg] ExamplesWord Origin noun
- a short, dull, explosive sound: the steady chug of an engine.
verb (used without object), chugged, chug·ging.
- to make this sound: The motor chugged.
- to move while making this sound: The train chugged along.
Origin of chug 1An Americanism dating back to 1865–70; imitativeRelated formschug·ger, noun chug 2 [chuhg]Slang. verb (used with object), chugged, chug·ging.
verb (used without object), chugged, chug·ging.
- to drink something in large gulps: to chug on a bottle of beer.
noun
- a large gulp or swallow: He finished his beer in two chugs.
Origin of chug 2imitative Related Words for chugs down, chug-a-lug Examples from the Web for chugs Contemporary Examples of chugs
Just prior to the contest, he chugs an entire bottle of castor oil and tops it off with an egg.
Marlow Stern
November 21, 2011
It’s Barack Obama who chugs slowly forward like a middle-aged salaryman, cautious and halting.
When exactly did John McCain become Mad Max?
Tucker Carlson
October 5, 2008
Historical Examples of chugs
What fun it must be to have a boat of your own that chugs about those entertaining seas!
Jean Webster
He got three chugs and a backfire into the carburetor, and after that silence.
B. M. Bower
After a number of loud wheezes and chugs the boat started down the river.
Clarence Young
British Dictionary definitions for chugs chug noun
- a short dull sound, esp one that is rapidly repeated, such as that made by an engine
verb chugs, chugging or chugged
- (intr) (of an engine, etc) to operate while making such sounds
Word Origin for chug C19: of imitative origin Word Origin and History for chugs chug n.
1866, echoic of a working steam engine. As a verb, from 1884. Related: Chugged; chugging. Drinking sense attested by 1940s (chug-a-lug), probably imitative of the sound of swallowing.