clog

To clog something means to block it or slow it down by filling it with material, often until it can’t work properly. For example: "Grease can clog the kitchen sink," or "Leaves clogged the drain after the storm." You can also use it intransitively: "The drain clogged overnight." It’s like trying to pour water through a straw that’s been stuffed with cotton—the flow is restricted and may eventually stop.

As a noun, a clog is the thing that causes the blockage. "There was a clog in the pipe" means something is stuck and preventing water from flowing. But clogs aren’t limited to plumbing. In everyday speech, anything that slows a system down can be said to clog it: "Bureaucracy clogged the approval process." A busy highway might be described as "clogged with traffic," meaning it’s completely jammed. In health contexts, people also talk about arteries being clogged when they’re blocked by plaque.

Interestingly, "clog" also refers to a type of traditional shoe—sturdy footwear made of wood or with a thick wooden sole. This meaning comes from an older use referring to a heavy block of wood, and it’s also connected to "clogging," a style of folk step-dancing traditionally performed in such shoes.

So, whether it’s a pipe, a road, a process, or even a style of shoe, when something is clogged, it’s jammed, blocked, or weighed down, making it harder for things to move smoothly. It’s all about obstruction and hindered flow.