[bog, bawg] 
noun, verb, bogged, bog⋅ging.| 1. | wet, spongy ground with soil composed mainly of decayed vegetable matter. |
| 2. | an area or stretch of such ground. |
| 3. | to sink in or as if in a bog (often fol. by down): We were bogged down by overwork. |
| 4. | bog in, Australian Slang. to eat heartily and ravenously. |
| bog (bôg) Pronunciation Key
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. |
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]